


Locked love

by libra95



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Lovehate, Minayeon, kpop, twice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:00:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 22
Words: 39,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25002025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/libra95/pseuds/libra95
Summary: Im Nayeon is a student of Seoul National University. Her family is very poor and needs money. One day, she gets a chance to work as a handmaid for a very wealthy family in Japan, where she meets the daughter of a family head, Myoui Mina.The work is inspired by the movie “The Handmaiden”.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina, Myoui Mina/Son Chaeyoung
Kudos: 20





	1. I need money

Nayeon was graduating her bachelor's degree at Seoul University and was thinking about getting master degree, but the education was very expensive and Nayeon family could not afford it. After classes, Nayeon and Jeongyeon often spent time together. From the first year, they became best friends and Jeongyeon was worried about Nayeon and her problems. After the next class, Jeongyeon saw a bright A4 sheet with an interesting vacancy on the advertisement board. She ripped it off and joyfully ran to Nayeon who was waiting for her in the university canteen. "Unnie, look what I found for you! It was hanging on the advertisement board," Jeongyeon joyfully exclaimed. Naeyoni picked up the sheet and started reading it out loud: " _A wealthy family living in Japan requires an unspecified maid to stay in the house 24/7 and help the daughter of the head of the family. Meals and accommodation are provided. Payment: $2,000 per month. For all questions - contact the rector of the university_ ". "Jon, I'm not likely to be hired for this kind of work, I won't be able to go to Japan," said Nayeon. "Have you seen how much they pay? You'll be able to save money for a few masters! Finish your bachelor's degree and then work for a year in this family, and next year you can go to the master," Jeongyeon tried to persuade her friend to take this job because Nayeon might not have another chance, she knew about the financial situation of the unnie family, so she insisted on this job. Nayeon's mother was a housewife and father was a businessman, but his business had not withstood the financial crisis, so he went bankrupt overnight and now works as a watchman at the school, for which he gets very little money, which is barely enough to feed the family. "You don't have to take this job right away, it says you have to go to the rector for all your questions. You can just find out the details of the job and then decide whether it suits you," Jeongyeon said. After lunch, the girls went to the rector's office together, and Jeongyeon said she would wait for a friend in his waiting room. Before going into the office, Nayeon turned to Jeongyeon: "Thank you for supporting me, I love you!" 

"Hello. I'd like to know about a maid's job in Japan," said Nayeon without any embarrassment. "I need money now, I dream of going to the master, study architecture, but I can't afford it, so I want to finish my bachelor's degree externally and start working". "Im Nayeon, I've been watching you and your work all these four years, you've done well. You have participated in various creative competitions, even won them, and some of your works have been presented at international exhibitions. I have no desire to prevent you from getting this work. Especially, the head of the family, who needs a servant - my very good friend, I will give the best recommendations about you. In many credits you already have grades, you only have to pass a few exams. I suggest you pass them as soon as possible and get to work," concluded Mr. Park, rector of Seoul University. Nayeon, enthusiastic about the outcome, thanked the rector and left the office. Jeongyeon hugged her friend, complimenting her for asking about this job. "Let's go out, if I go to Japan soon, we won't be able to spend time together," she suggested. Jeongyeon was from a wealthy family and often invited a friend to spend the night. Her family had a huge house where Nayeon liked to spend time. Jeongyeon often paid for her at the movies or cafes and never asked for a refund. She was unrequitedly in love with Nayeon. One day, at another walk, Jeongyeon decided to confess her feelings, but Nayeon refused because she was already in a relationship with a young man, although they had broken up a few months ago, but Jeongyeon decided to keep the relationship warm, even though it was difficult for her. Jeongyeon was happy about the little things like a child, so she suggested that Nayeon spend some time in an amusement park. "We're going to video chat, right?" Jeongyeon asked. "Of course, at least every day, only in the evening when I'm free. I wonder who the daughter is and how old she is. What if I can't get along with her and live like hell?" Nayeon was always confident, but now there was fear in her voice. "Nayeon, don't worry, you'll succeed. If anything, call me right away and we'll figure it out!", a friend calmed down. 

Nayeon successfully passed all exams two weeks before the exam week, passed the certification and received the diploma. Now she had to get all the necessary details from her host and could go to Japan. The Myoui family was in constant contact with the Nayeon, they were already waiting for the girl, so Nayeon decided to leave for Kobe two days later. On her last free day, Nayeon hung out at Jeongyeon's house where they ate pizza, watched movies and played consoles. "Unnie, I'm sorry to come back to this again, but I want to tell you again that I love you, you are my first love, and my feelings for you have not cooled down. I don't demand anything in return, I just want you to know that if you need anything, I'm always ready to help you," Jeongyeon said. "I'm sorry I can't reciprocate. You're like a sister to me, and I have a sisterly love for you," said Nayeon. "You don't have to make excuses or explain anything, I've understood it a long time ago. Let's lie down under a blanket and watch a movie," Jeongyeon pinned Nayeon to her and turned on the first comedy Netflix offered. 

Nayeon was almost late for boarding because she said goodbye to her parents and Jeongyeon, who also wished to come to the airport and say goodbye to her friend. Her mom cried for a long time and Jeongyeon could barely hold back her tears by hugging her friend saying goodbye. "I have to go, or I won't fly away today," Nayeon said, "I'll write to you all as soon as I get to my destination". At Kobe Airport, two men in tuxedos picked Nayeon up. They didn't say anything, but took her things and loaded them in the trunk. The car was very expensive, so Nayeon could see how rich this family was. The car arrived at a majestic three-storey mansion, the first and second floors were lined with white bricks, and the third floor had nothing but huge windows. At the entrance to the mansion, Nayeon was met by a housekeeper who was responsible for all the organizational and business activities in the house. She was a 50-year-old woman who showed that she was unmarried and that her behavior was like a strict teacher who only taught traditional values. "My name is Mоrin Yoshida, I oversee the order in this house, manage the staff. The house is a huge mechanism that must live without interruption. You'll deal with me, don't go to the owner of the house, if you have a question, it's only through me! Security will deliver your belongings to the room where you will be staying, and I will give you a tour of the house, and then you will meet with Myoui-san, the owner of this beautiful house," when Miss Yoshida finished talking about the arrangements, she took Nayeon to show the house. The mansion has a swimming pool, a gym, a vast living room with slot machines and a big screen for big companies to watch movies in, and rooms with two Akita Inu dogs. "The owner's daughter is very fond of this breed, so she asked her father to buy her these dogs. She walks them herself, but if she needs help, you have to help her right away," said Miss Yoshida. "What's his daughter's character? Will I be able to get along with her?" Nayeon asked. "Yes, she's a wonderful girl, she's very polite, well-mannered and never raises her voice, but she almost always sits in her room and it's hard to get her out, so you'll have to try to get along with her," the housekeeper warned, "Some rooms are off-limits, I don't even know what's in some rooms, but I warn you not to go in or even try to get in, for your good". Miss Yoshida had an earpiece in her ear and kept in touch with all the staff in the house through it: "Myoui-san is ready to meet you and I'll take you to his office".

"Myoui-san, I've brought you a new servant, Im Nayeon!", introduced Miss Yoshida to the new employee. "Thank you, leave us alone, we'll have a little talk," replied the 45-year-old man, who was tall and stocky, but already bald. "Take a seat, make yourself at home, this place will be your home for a few months. My name is Ichiro Myoui, I am the owner of everything you see here. You will work as a servant for my daughter Mina, you will have to stay with her around the clock and do whatever she asks you to do, in other words, you will become a friend with whom she will spend all the time. Mina's mother left us when Mina was 14 years old, so I raised her, but now I don't have time for this because of my work, so I invited you," said Myoui-san. "How old is your daughter?" Nayeon asked. "She's 22 years old, but she's an introvert and doesn't like to talk to people," Ichiro said. Nayeon thought the girl wasn't even 18 yet, but she didn't expect to be a maid for a girl two years younger than Nayeon. "I want to read your application. You graduated from Seoul University in architecture, your grades are good. The university rector praised you very much. You're 24 years old, which means you're almost the same age as my daughter, it's good, you'll find it easier to get along with her. I tried to hire women who were for Mina as a mother, but they could not contact each other at all. So when Mr. Park called me and told me about you, I immediately agreed," said Myoui-san. "If it's okay with you, I'll ask Miss Yoshida to show your room, she'll be next to Mina's room, and then you can have lunch and meet my daughter. She is in riding class now, so you have two hours of free time," said Myoui-san. "I'm ready to work!" Nayeoni replied strongly. "Miss Yoshida, show our new servant her room and give her a good meal," said the owner. 


	2. Why are you here?

"Mina's back from her riding class, now she'll take a shower and come down for lunch. You can wait for her in the dining room," miss Yoshida said. Nayeon walked into the dining room and sat down at the glass table, which could accommodate as many as twenty people. The dining room itself was as if it was for the royal family, there were expensive paintings with gilded frames on the walls, there was a television on the wall of the dining room, and a separate place was occupied by dogs with bowls, toys, and beds. 

A miniature girl walked into the hall, followed by two dogs, she was short, dark hair was carefully gathered in a tail, and a long bang carelessly covered her eyes, because of this she constantly corrected it. Nayeon thought Mina would show up in expensive designer clothes to show off her family's wealth, but she was wearing the most ordinary black hoodie and gray sports pants. She walked her pets to their place and poured food into their bowls, then sat down at the table opposite Nayeon. "Mina, dinner will be ready now, wait a bit," the housekeeper said. "It's okay, I'll wait," Mina calmed down. Her voice was so quiet and calm that Nayeon realized that Mina was very different from her father, much more humble than he was. "Miss Yoshida, you can go now, I think they can set the table without you," Mina let the woman go and looked at Nayeon, "Finally she's gone, she treats me like a child, even though I'm not a child anymore and she's also trying to replace my mother. I try to treat her nicely, but sometimes her care goes beyond that". Nayeon looked at Mina with a smile: "I understand you very well, miss Myoui, sometimes this kind of care becomes annoying". "Just call me Mina," the girl interrupted. "Well, Mina, I think you understand why I'm here. Your dad invited me to help you with everything, to spend time with you," Nayeon said. "Are you really interested in this? You're young, beautiful, why are you wasting your time with me? I don't need help, I can do everything on my own. I dress myself, I eat myself, I walk my dogs. What are you going to do with me? I don't need a nanny", - finally, the maid, who was engaged in food, brought a three-dish lunch for Mina and a pitcher with orange juice on a tray. She waved her hand, showing the woman to leave the dining room. 

"I can be a friend for you with whom you can spend time, talk about something, do whatever you want," Nayeoni explained. "Do what you want to do? You're not a puppet, but a human being. I understand what you're saying, but I'm really sorry you're going to waste your time with me because I'm bored, I don't go anywhere, I don't visit interesting places, you just die of boredom with me," Mina kept insisting. "Firstly, I'll tell you honestly that I won't just spend time with you, but for the money your father pays me. Secondly, I really need that money because I want to get an education. Thirdly, I've made my choice, and it's certainly not up to you to talk me out of it," Nayeon snapped. Minari didn't answer anything, so she started to eat lunch in silence. "Can I pet your dogs, I like animals a lot," Nayeon wanted to ease the tense situation. "Yes, of course, it's two girls: one dog's name is Ruri, which means emerald in Japanese, and the other is Tora, a tiger, because of her character." Mina opened up a bit to her new friend and she always talked about her four-legged friends with great enthusiasm. While Minari was eating lunch, Nayeon sat down next to the pets and began to drive her hands over their soft, well-groomed fur, they immediately got in at the girl they did not know yet. "Look, they're already starting to lick my face and we've just met," said Nayeon giggling. "So they liked you, they don't meet everyone I know like that, you're lucky," Mina couldn't help laughing as the two dogs fell on Nayeon and lay down on both sides next to her. "Can I lie like this for the rest of my life?" Nayeoni joked. "Of course, you don't have to do anything, but I'll go to my room now," Mina replied. "Wait, are you going to your room? Do I have to go with you? Do I have to help you?", asked Nayeon. "I don't think so, I'll be watching any film or just surf through the internet, but if you want, you can just sit in my room, or you can watch a film with me," the girl suggested. 

"Nothing is interesting in my room except that it's big. My father bought everything for me, there's even a telescope, I don't know why I need it, because I don't like to look at the stars. The TV comes out so it doesn't take up much space, you can lift the bed too, and then the room will be huge. The other wall has a training machine because I've been practicing ballet for 11 years and sometimes I work out to keep fit and not forget all the things I've learned in 11 years. Basically, there's nothing else here that will catch your attention, a closet, books, a table, a laptop, dog beds, that's all. Of course, you may be surprised by the wallpaper, it's painted, Dad specially invited the best masters, I really do not know why I need painted walls, I do not live in the temple and not in the art gallery. The curtains are also very expensive, they are hand made", - Mina laid on the bed and stumbled into her laptop, - "In general, I do not like all this luxury, unlike my father, who buys all the most expensive: things, jewelry, cars, goes to the best restaurants. I don't understand it, it's not the most important thing in life". "Miss Yoshida was right when she said that this girl was very humble and well-bred," Nayeon thought, she was fascinated by how she grew up in such luxury and was not a spoiled girl who only cared about money. 

"Are you going to sit next to me or are you going to stand at the door?", Mina asked with a smile, "I don't know what you like to watch, so let's turn on something or we can play a console". "Have you seen the new Korean movie _Parasite_ , everyone's talking about it?" Nayeon asked. "I've heard about it, and I know what it is about, but I never saw it. Let's watch it together now," Myoui-san paid for his daughter's annual subscription to all the films and series, so it wasn't difficult for her to find the film. 

"How do you like the movie? Didn't I insult you by asking you to see this movie?" Nayeon asked. "Not at all, I like the topic of this movie. I think it's a pressing issue around the world right now, so I told you I don't like all this luxury, but unfortunately, I can't get away from it, I'm like a prisoner in this house," Minari replied. "I'm sorry, but what do you mean by the prisoner? Are you being held here by force?", Nayeoni was surprised. "I don't want to talk about it now, and we hardly know each other yet, so that I can share my secrets with you," Mina said. Suddenly miss Yoshida knocked on the door, "Minari, the father wants to see you in his office right now!". "I don't like these meetings with my father in his office! You can stay here if you want," the girl suggested. "I think I'll go to my room, I want to call my parents and my friend," said Nayeon. "Okay, I'll see you later then," Mina took a new friend out of the room and went to the office.

Mina with a serene face entered the office and sat in the chair opposite her father. "How do you like your new maid?" Myoui-san asked. "I don't know why you're inviting them, I'm not five anymore, I can do everything myself," Mina replied, looking at the floor. "At least she'll make your grey and boring life different!" dad replied. "Maybe if you'd let me go to university like normal people, my life wouldn't be so boring. You don`t let me go anywhere alone, I've always studied at home, I can't even meet my friends!" Mina continued to object to her father. "You have the internet, talk to them, who forbids you?", the man cunningly answered. "You know why you locked me in the house, you're afraid that the story that happened in the senior year of school will happen again!" Mina threw herself on. "I forbid you to even think about it, you know what a shame it would be if all my friends found out you had some kind of relationship with your classmate Chaeyoung," Ichiro said. "It's more important to you what your friends think about you than if I'm happy! And I loved Chaeyoung and maybe I still do!" Mina couldn't sit any longer, she was about to leave the office, but her father stopped her: "If I find out you're in contact with her, you know what'll happen! And don't lock the door when you're in the room with Nayeon!" dad warned her. Mina ran out of the office in tears, she went into her room, slammed the door and fell on the bed. In the back of the bedside table, Mina hid a box of things she thought were very precious to her. After checking for anyone in the hallway, she barely heard took the box and pulled her cell phone out of it. There was no SIM card in it, but all the files were still stored. There were a lot of photos from Mina's high school life on it. She opened the picture with her and Chaeyoung and cried again. "Mina, are you alright? I heard how hard you slammed the door," Nayeon asked behind the door. "Yes, it's okay, I just want to be alone!" Mina answered, trying to hide that she was crying. 


	3. I don't feel happy

Before going to bed, Nayeon decided to call her friend and tell her about her new job. "Talk about everything," Jeongyeon asked. "I don't even know where to start. It's not a house, it's a real palace, everything looks so rich, I even got lost in it today. There are marble and gold everywhere, it's scary to touch everything," Nayeon started. "What do you think of the owners, did you like them?" Jeon asked. "The owner seems very suspicious to me, he's very polite, but I also feel that there's some falsity about him, he has an obscene love of wealth that you can't say about his daughter, I work as a handmaid for her. I thought I'd have to look after a little girl, but it turns out that this girl is 22 years old. She's very closed, I don't know how to get in touch with her yet, but I still have plenty of time for that," Nayeon said. "Is she pretty? You must have liked her, right?" Jeongyeon joked. "Are you jealous already? Don't be, I don't like boring people like that," Nayeoni reassured her friend, "She has a very strained relationship with her father, and a few hours ago she was crying in her room after talking to him". "I wonder if the rich have quirks of their own," the friend calmed down. "It's strange to hear it from your lips, but I suggested her to watch " _Parasite_ " movie, and then I wondered if this movie would offend her, but it seemed to go well," Nayeon had her bathroom, so she decided to take a foam bath while she was telling with her friend. "You've only worked your first day and you're already laughing at the rich people right in their face. Well done!!", Jeongyeon supported. "But in fact, she said she doesn't like to call herself rich, and I already like her for that. I think I'm going to lie down in a hot bath and then go to bed, I'm very tired, and tomorrow I have to get up early and entertain Mina," Nayeoni said. "Of course, write to me or call me! I'll be waiting," Jeongyeon said goodbye. 

At 9:00 a.m., Mina and her father had breakfast in the dining room. When Nayeon walked into the large hall, she said hello to Mina and Myoui-san, but instead of reciprocating, he asked miss Yoshida to take Nayeon to the hall where the staff usually eats. "I'm going to the party tonight, and you have to be there with me, so now you are finishing your breakfast and going shopping for an evening gown and miss Yoshida and Nayeon will go with you," Ichiro warned. "Can I only go with Nayeon? I don't like the way Morin looks after me," Mina asked. "If you want, I'll ask her not to go with you, but the driver will be nearby," Mina's father answered. 

When Mina arrived at the expensive mall, she immediately warned Nayeon that it would be a boring and long process of finding an evening dress. "I have nowhere to rush anyway, but I've never seen such department stores, I'm even scared to look at prices," Nayeon laughed. "You'll get used to it! By the way, dad told us to buy you a dress because you're going to the party, too," Mina took Nayeon's hand and led her to the first boutique she saw. "I don't want to spend the whole day here because I hate stores, so let's buy some dresses quickly and get out of here," Mina said and asked the shop assistant to find outfits for the girls. Mina immediately liked the humble long black dress that covered her shoulders, and Nayeon chose a gently pink classic pantsuit. "You see how quickly we did everything, in just an hour, let's get some more heels, and we can get out of here," Minari rejoiced. "I have to pay for the dress, but I don`t have enough money yet?" Nayeon asked. "I don't have any money either, the driver has all the cards, so he pays, don't worry. Dad wants you to come with us to this party, so he's paying for you," Mina said, "I'm exhausted from shopping like this, so I'm already dreaming of coming home and eating something!".

Throwing her purchases at the front door, Mina let her dogs out of the room and ran with them to the dining room, where a table had already been set up for her. Mina offered Nayeon to keep her company, to which miss Yoshida immediately objected: "The maid should only eat in the staff room!". "And I want Nayeon to sit here with me!" Mina snapped. "I won't argue with you, but I'll have to report it to your father!" the housekeeper replied. "Don't worry, I explain everything, it's my wish. That's why my father hired you," Mina immediately calmed the girl down because Nayeon was already worried that Myoui-san might punish her for this behavior. "It's the sushi again! Shall we order a pizza? Morin, order us a big pizza and bring it to my room!" Mina ordered. "Whatever you say, Minari," replied the woman. While the girls were waiting for pizza, Nayeon offered to play the console. Mina gladly agreed because she loved to spend time playing. "Are you sure your father won't punish you for ordering pizza?" Nayeon asked. "Don't worry, I often order pizza, and miss Yoshida always reports it to him, he's used to it," Mina said.

The sun was setting slowly, and the girls were already ready to go out in their costumes. "That color suits you very well," Mina complimented Nayeon as they walked towards the car, "We're about to be taken to another big house where father will talk to men who like to show off their expensive toys, and I'll just make it look like I'm here, so don't step away from me!". Mina wasn't wrong about the size of the house where the girls and Mina's dad were brought to. It was a house built in the style of those mansions that were popular in Miami in the '80s. Rose bushes were planted all around the perimeter. A red carpet was laid out in front of the house, and guests could walk in like Hollywood stars. The most expensive cars were parked outside, and as soon as Myoui-san got out of the car, he immediately met his acquaintances. He completely ignored his daughter's presence and only the music that sounded out helped Mina to stay in a good mood. When Ichiro went to the house with his friends, he waved to Mina to follow him without even looking at her. Looking at it, Nayeon felt sorry for Mina and began to understand a little why father and daughter had such a relationship. While the man was having fun with his friends, the girls decided to find a quiet corner where there was the least crowded and almost no music, they took a glass of Coke and sat down on a comfortable sofa. "How I hate all this. Look at those fake smiles, they hate each other, but because of their status and money they're ready to compliment each other," Mina said, "Look at my father and the enthusiasm with which he communicates with his friends, he's more interested in them than in me! I don't understand why he needs me here". "Honestly, I still don't understand how you happen to be so much simpler and more grounded than your father. Haven't you been affected by this rich environment?" Nayeon asked. "Because I'm just like my mother, she didn't like any of this either," Mina said. "Did you say "didn't love it"? Did something happen?" Nayeoni was surprised. "No, she's fine, when I was 14, my father threw her out of the house. They fought all the time and she wanted to leave him and take me away, but he wouldn't let her do it. He processed the divorce without her knowledge and put her out on the street with her things, and I was accompanied everywhere by bodyguards. I still don't know where she is or how to contact her," Mina quickly wiped away the tears that had not yet fallen on her dress. Nayeon did not even know what to say, because Mina had lost her mother at such a difficult age for a girl. She decided to comfort the girl by hugging her gently. 

"There you are, I've been looking all over for you! Let Nayeon go and follow me, I need you to meet someone," Myoui-san looked very excited, "I don't want you hugging Nayeon like that!" father led her to the company of men who greeted her with cheerful cries, Nayeon felt disgusted seeing that. "Meet Ando-san, you have no idea how much money his business brings. We decided to merge our business and to make it more than successful, you will marry his son Yoshie," Ichiro shocked Mina with this statement. "What do you mean, I'm getting married? We live in the 21st century, why should I marry just for your business?" Mina said. "You want to live in a big house, eat good food, wear good clothes, you need money for that," the man explained. "I would only give it all to be happy, and you've even taken it away from me," Mina did not wait for her father's answer and was about to return to Nayeon, but he grabbed her hand: "We're not going to fight in front of everyone right now! At home, we'll discuss it again!" Mina pulled her hand back and went back to Naeyon. "If you'll excuse my daughter, she's not feeling well. Mitchie, let's better discuss the details of our deal," said Myoui-san.

"Is everything okay? I didn't even feel comfortable watching this men's company from here," Nayeon asked. "I'm becoming more and more disappointed in my father every day! You know what, let's get out of here? Anywhere, even the first McDonald's that gets in our way, just to get out of here!" Mina suggested. "But how do we get away from the guards? They're everywhere, and your father's guards are watching us closely too," Nayeon was surprised that Mina was ready for such adventures. "We'll just leave, through the main exit. We'll just go through the carpet. If we get caught, we'll tell them we forgot something in the car while they go to the parking lot, we'll walk out the other way, but that's only if they stop us!", It felt like Mina had thought about this escape beforehand, "So? Are you ready?". "Yes, let's get out of this stuffy place!" - Nayeon quickly got up from the couch and followed Mina. 


	4. Enjoy the sound of the waves

The girls went to the nearest diner that they got in their way. Mina loved junk food, so she offered Naнeon to order burgers, fries, and milkshakes. "But I don't have any money, all the cards were left at dad`s," Mina said. "I have some money, so I'll pay for us," Nayeon calmed down, "You sit down at the table and I'll make the reservation. As soon as Nayeon put a tray of food on the table, Mina grabbed the burger because she was very hungry as she hadn't eaten anything at the party. "What happened there? I saw your father grabbed your hand roughly," Nayeon asked carefully. "It's nothing terrible, it's just that dad forgot I'm human and treated me like a thing. He showed his greed again by deciding to marry me off to the son of a millionaire. I know I can't avoid that fate, so I'll have to run away somewhere far away or accept and get married," Mina said while sipping a strawberry cocktail. "I can't believe your father would do this! I really want to help you, but don't know how I promise I will think about it! Can I ask you something else? Why does Myoui-san keep you at home all the time when you've grown up," Nayeon couldn't take up food, because she was interested in learning as much about Mina as possible. 

"Your food will cool down if you keep asking questions," said Mina, smiling and sweetly smacking, "But you can eat while I tell you. In my senior year, when I was about to take my exams, I fell in love with my classmate Chaeyoung, who was from Korea, like you, but her parents sent her to Japan to study. Our relationship developed very quickly, but we didn't tell anyone about it, tried to hide it carefully, even though Chaeyoung offered to feel free to walk around holding hands, but she knew what my father was like, so she didn't push me to do it. I started spending time at her house almost every day after school, and my father began to think it was suspicious. He had me followed, and I don't know how maybe his bodyguards used a drone to take pictures of us lying on the bed and kissing. When I came home, dad showed me these photos and I confirmed that I was in a relationship with Chaeyoung. He came up to me, said that I had embarrassed him and hit me in the face, even though he had never raised his hand against me before. Until the prom night, I was accompanied by a bodyguard to and from school. Dad even asked all the teachers to make sure I wasn't in contact with Chaeyoung. I couldn't even go near her and explain everything. I only met her once in the hallway, but we didn't go near each other. She saw a bruise on my face and pressed her lips to show that she understood everything. After that, we no longer talked and acted like strangers, as if we had never known each other. After graduation, my dad didn't let me go to university and told me that I would study at home, and where Chaeyoung is now I don't know, I don't have any contacts with her, I can't find her on social media, and my dad said that if he found out that I was communicating with her, I guess it wouldn't stop with one blow to the face. Nayeon, I was 16 years old at that time, mom wasn't around, I had no one to tell, I kept it to myself. Now I've calmed down a bit because it's been a few years, but after that incident, the relationship with dad has been getting worse and worse," Mina finished her story and continued drinking a cocktail. Nayeon stopped eating because Mina's story shook her. She was struck by the calmness with which Minari was telling all this, perhaps her emotions had dulled, but the strength of her spirit could have been envied. "Have you finished yet? Let's go to the beach because I feel that soon my father will realize that we are not there and will start looking for us all over town," Mina asked, "Only I will go barefoot because my feet hurt terribly with my heels". Before Nayeon could get out of the table, Mina took her hand and led her. 

Mina did not care that she was in an expensive dress, she sat on the wet sand, not thinking about what would then become of the outfit. "Sit down, don't be afraid to ruin your costume. It's so nice in the evening, there's nobody here, and you can watch the sunset. Fortunately, we managed to catch the sun disappearing on the horizon," Mina looked at the sea, which was slowly devouring the sun. Nayeon liked Mina for the simple things she could admire. Once the sun disappeared, Mina laid down on the soft sand and closed her eyes. "What will we do when we get home? Your father can fire me for leaving with you!" Nayeon said. "But he's paying you to be there for me, so you left, and don't think about it yet, relax and enjoy the sound of the waves," Minari said. Nayeon did the same, laid next to Mina and closed her eyes listening to the sound of the waves.

"Mina, what are you doing?" Nayeon opened her eyes sharply and saw Mina's face. Nayeon woke up right after she felt that someone had kissed her, but she couldn't think it would be Mina. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done this," Minari moved away from Nayeon, "I just missed the human warmth, I don't know what came over me, it won't happen again!". Now Nayeon felt guilty about hurting her somehow because she knew that Mina had been growing up without her mother for a long time, she had not seen her girlfriend for years, and her father did not show usual care and affection. Nayeoni took Mina by the shoulder and pulled her to herself. For the first time in a long time, someone hugged Mina and she embraced Nayeon with two hands that she could dissolve into her arms. 

A car stopped near the beach, miss Yoshida and Myoui-san got out, and they quickly headed for the girls. "We've been looking for you for two hours! Nayeon, we'll talk to you at home in my office, and you, Mina, will stay in your room for a week," said the man threateningly. "It's a very terrible punishment to sit in a room, especially since I'm not allowed anywhere else, so I'll get through it somehow," Mina laughed when she looked at Nayeon. "Morin, put Nayeon in the car, I want to talk to Mina here," Ichiro asked. Even though the car windows were darkened, Nayeon could still see Mina and her father standing on the sand in the distance. "What were you thinking when you ran away from the party? Do you realize that you could set me up and my whole business would collapse? And how many times do I have to tell you not to hug Nayeon like that, I've had enough of your tricks at school, so if I find out there's something between you two, she'll leave right away! Yoshie and his father are coming to meet you tomorrow, you thought I was joking about you getting married? No! Get ready for tomorrow!" concluded Myoui-san. "I'm not going to prepare for anything! I'm not a thing to be treated like this, and it's not your deal to decide should I hug with Nayeon or not!" Mina objected. Ichiro turned to the car, being all nervous, but looked at Mina again and, after taking his hand out of his pocket, slapped Mina. Nayeon was shocked, seeing with her own eyes that the father was able to raise his hand against his daughter. "Don't react like that, it's okay for him, sometimes Mina kinks a stick, so she deserves that kind of punishment," explained miss Yoshida, who was sitting in the front seat of the car. Nayeoni looked scornfully at the woman, wondering how she could justify a man's behavior that allows him to raise his hand to a girl, to his daughter. 

Mina got back in the car and sat between her father and Nayeon. As they drove home, only the music sounded in the car, which the driver turned on. Mina could barely hold back her tears as she sat next to her father. It was extremely unpleasant for her to sit next to him after he hit her in the face again, leaving a red mark on her cheek. Someone called Ichiro-san, and while he was on the phone, Nayeon stroked Mina's hand discreetly with her index finger. Mina reacted immediately and looked at Nayeon and smiled, but it was visible that she was smiling through her power. As soon as dad finished talking, she put her head on Nayeon's shoulder, but she didn't care what he thought. The man noticed it, but he didn't say anything. 

Upon entering the house, Myoui-san immediately told Nayeon that he would be waiting for her in his office, while Mina was told to go to her room and not to leave it. Mina waved to Nayeon saying goodbye to her, hugged her dogs and went to her room with them. Nayeoni quickly changed into everyday clothes to feel comfortable in front of her boss and went to meet Myoui-san. When Nayeon entered the room, a man suggested the girl sit on the chair that was in front of the master's table. "Nayeon, don't indulge Mina and don`t satisfy her desires, she often has strange ideas, so if she offers you something, report to me immediately or forbid her. Today I forgive you because you've just started working, but next time I'll punish you," Ichiro said. It was strange to Nayeon that a man did not sit in front of her, but walked behind her from side to side, making Nayeon feeling uncomfortable. "Ah, and another thing," continued Myoui-san, "Don't answer Mina's hugs and other expressions of her feelings". Nayeon felt more awkward when a man came up behind her and took her with two hands on her shoulders. "If you respond to that kind of behavior, she might see it as reciprocity and not understand it correctly," Myoui-san asked. The atmosphere in the office was becoming uncomfortable, and Nayeon got up from the chair on purpose quickly so that the man could take his hands off the girl's shoulders: "I heard all your comments. I'll take into account everything you said. Can I go now?" Nayeon wanted to leave the office as soon as possible. "Yes, you can go. Good night!" Ichiro said. Without answering anything, Nayeon left the office and quickly went to her room. 


	5. Don`t touch Mina

Mina did not leave her room, as her father had ordered, so Nayeon brought the breakfast on a tray for her. Minari was in a good mood, even though her potential fiancé was about to arrive. "What happened yesterday at the beach between you and your father? Why did he punch you in the face?" Nayeon asked. "It was a parenting process, according to dad. My future husband is coming to meet me today, please don't leave me alone with him for a moment! Dad can agree on anything with him!" Mina warned. Nayeon decided not to tell Mina that yesterday, when she was sitting in Myoui-san`s office, he put his hands on her shoulders, thinking it was just a polite gesture. While Mina was having breakfast, miss Yoshida barbarously entered her room without even asking if she could come in. Then she looked at Mina and said: "This afternoon Ando-san and his son are coming, so be ready by then, put on something pretty, you don't want to let your father down, right?," Yoshida finished and addressed in a strict tone to Nayeon, "Nayeon, help her to charm the young man at first sight". Nayeon nodded and the woman left the room. 

The girls had a long process in choosing the clothes that Mina could wear, and in the end, their choice fell on regular jeans and a shirt. "I hope father won't say anything about not wearing a dress, but I feel so much more comfortable," Mina laughed. "You look very attractive, even more than a lot of guys," Nayeon said, "If you were a man, I would definitely go out with you". "It's a pity I'm not a man," Mina said, but Nayeon didn't take those words seriously and just laughed at them. Miss Yoshida knocked on the door and said, "Mina, it's the time! Ando's family is here, come down to the living room!". Minari finished the final preparations and left the room with Nayeon. 

In the living room on the sofa, the man was already waiting, whom Mina saw at the party, and next to him a young man of athletic body sat, when he got up from the sofa to greet Mina, he was two heads higher than Mina. Yoshie had medium-length black hair that barely covered his ears and expressive brown eyes that could immediately charm any girl. "Mina, sit next to Yoshie," said Myoui-san, who was sitting in his favorite chair opposite the guests, holding a glass of whiskey. Despite Mina's request to be always with her, Nayeon realized that she was superfluous here, so the girl decided to go out for a walk around the house. Mina was upset, but at the same time, she understood that Nayeon would be bored to listen to this conversation, so she suggested Nayeon walk in the dogs. 

"I think the wedding can be played next month so there's enough time to prepare. And after that, we can announce a business merger, right Mitchie?" Ichiro said enthusiastically. "Maybe the bride and the groom should get to know each other at first before getting married," Mina objected. The guests immediately looked at the girl. "When you're married and you find out, you'll have plenty of time to do that," said father, "If you want to get to know your fiancé so badly, why don't you get some privacy and ask everything now? And we'll settle the adult questions here for now." Mina decided to take Yoshie to the gazebo that was in the winter garden. "Do you like our parents' idea?" Mina asked. "Not really, because I wasn't going to get married yet, but I liked you," said the young man. "I don't want to get married at all, so let's not ruin each other's lives," Minari asked. "Didn't you like me at all? I wouldn't mind my father," said the young man. Mina felt the other's hand trying to wrap around her waist, it was Yoshie's. The girl looked at the young man confusedly, not knowing what he was doing: "Please put away your hand. I didn't permit you to touch me." Yoshie did not respond to the request, but only hugged Mina even harder and pressed her against him. Then the girl roughly removed his hand and hurriedly left the gazebo. "Wait, why are you behaving like that? If we get married, you'll have to let me touch you and not just touch," explained Yoshie. "I hope we don't get married because I don't want to marry you, I don't like you, I don't like men at all. Does that answer suit you?" Mina snapped. 

Nayeon walked with the dogs nearby, so when she heard the two young people talking, she immediately headed towards them. "How many men have you had in your life that you say you don't like them? How can you know that?" Yoshie grabbed Mina's waist again and pulled her towards him before she could understand anything, as she found herself in his arms. He tried to kiss her, but the girl started to burst out. Since the guy was physically very strong, Mina was helpless. Yoshie almost kissed Mina as her favorite dogs came to the girl's rescue and Nayeon followed them quickly. "Mina, are you okay?" Nayeon asked anxiously. "I don't know if this strange guy is holding me back and wants to kiss me," Minari complained. "Let the girl go. I don't think she feels good about it," Yoshie said. "She is my fiancée, why can't I treat her like this? Especially girls like to be treated this way," the young man explained his position. "If you don't let her go now, I'll call the police, and I don't know where you get this kind of knowledge in caring for girls, but they certainly don't like being held by force, after which they have bruises on their bodies! If you've been taught by your father to treat girls like that, you've been taught wrong," Nayeon warned. Mina tried to move again and finally, Yoshie let her go. The girl immediately ran up to Nayeon and hid behind her. "I'll go back to the house and tell my father everything, especially that you threatened me with the police," the young man said outragedly. Yoshie left, and the girls stayed standing outside. The dogs were very happy to see their mistress, they felt the girl was worried, so they started jumping on her and hanging around her legs. "Are you all right? I was so frightened when I heard your anxious voice," Nayeoni asked. "I still shudder, I was very scared. I don't even know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up. That's why I don't want to get married and I don't want any relationships with men. I was ready to accept my fate this morning, now I know for sure that I have to do everything in my power to prevent this wedding from happening. The best option would be if Yoshie's father changed his mind, but then my father would kill me for sabotaging his deal, he cares more about money than his daughter," Mina replied. 

Miss Yoshida already met the girls at the front of the house: "Myoui-san is looking for you, both! Immediately!". After taking the dogs to their room, Nayeon and Mina went into the living room, where angry Ichiro and his guests were already waiting for them. "I won't even listen to my daughter, so, Nayeon, explain what happened outside," Myoui-san asked. "I walked with the dogs and heard Mina's voice and went straight to her. I saw this young man holding Mina by force and trying to kiss her against her will. I asked him to let her go. He refused. Then I said I'd call the police if he wouldn't let Mina go. Only after a few arguments, he let her go and went straight back to the house. I really don't know what happened before, it's better to ask your daughter about it," Nayeon explained. "Before that, we stood in a gazebo and just talked, and then Yoshie started hugging me around the waist, I didn't like it. I asked him to put his hand away, but he pressed me even harder," Mina said, joining in Nayeon's excuses. "He's your fiancé, so he began to show signs of attention and you acted like a naughty little girl again and almost ruined an important deal for us! Now go back to your room!", Myoui-san ordered. Mina defiantly turned around and left the living room, the man looked at Nayeon, showing by his eyes to follow Mina. "Don't worry, I'll deal with her! It's just that she gets used to people for a very long time, but soon the Snow Queen's heart will thaw! Let's drink to our common cause for now," Ichiro said. 

Mina laid on the bed and turned to the wall. Nayeon wanted to comfort and cheer her up somehow, but Mina ignored everything Nayeon was saying. "Then I'll go to my room," Nayeon said. "No, wait, lie down next to me. Even though I'm lying against the wall, I want someone to just lie down next to me," Mina asked. Nayeon said, "Do you mind if I go and get my laptop and come back to your place?". "I'll wait," Minari said happily. When Nayeon came back with her laptop, she laid down next to Mina. She thought Mina would lie silently, but the girl started the conversation: "Can you show me some pictures? Do you have any friends?". Nayeon decided to tell Mina about Jeongyeon, their friendship, even the fact that Jeongyeon is unrequitedly in love with Nayeon. "Haven't you ever liked her like a girl?" Mina asked. "I didn't even think about it, we had already become close friends that she was like a sister to me, and I never saw her as someone I could have a relationship with," Naeyon replied. "Did you have a relationship?" Mina kept asking. "Yes, I had a boyfriend and everything was fine at the beginning of the relationship, but then he started to get jealous to everyone, even Jeongyeon, and the relationship was becoming toxic, so I decided to end it myself because I couldn't stand it anymore," said the girl, "After that, I only studied and spent all my time with my friend". "It's good to have friends like that, I'd give everything now to have at least one friend with whom I could spend time," Mina sadly said. "Hey, don't be sad, I'm right here with you. Imagine if I wasn't here now, how would you stand up to all these men? And I think I figured out how to find your mom, I need you to tell me her exact details: name, date, and place of birth. I hope my idea will work and we'll find her," Nayeon said enthusiastically. 


	6. I will show you something

When Mina fell asleep, Nayeon went back to her room and decided to make a videocall to Jeongyeon. She was glad to see Nayeon because she missed her, but Nayeon went straight to the point of the conversation as if she was afraid she would forget to talk about something. "Jeong, your father has a lot of connections, you can ask him to find someone, it's very important," Nayeon said in a hurry. "I'll give it a try, but what happened? Why did you suddenly have to look for someone while you're working in Japan?" Jeongyeon calmed down her friend. Nayeon had to tell Mina's story, she had no idea how, but she wanted to find Mina's mother and do everything she could to reunite with her daughter. "You've only known this family for a couple of days, and you're already trying to get into this family business? Nayeon, judging from your stories about that father, it's very dangerous! I understand that you want to help, but he's in his own country, he has a lot of money, aren't you afraid that not only Mina but also you might get hurt," Jeongyeon said. "I understand, but it really hurts me to look at Mina, who suffers from father's terrible attitude towards her. Will you help or not? I can ask someone else!" Nayeoni answered. "Of course I'll help you, but I'm very worried about you. Please be careful!", a friend asked. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I get in touch with you almost every day and tell you what's new," Nayeon still sounded excited about her ideas.

Nayeon was preparing to go to sleep as someone suddenly knocked on the door. When Nayeon opened the door, she saw Mina in her sports suit. "Did something happen?" Nayeon asked. "No, I just can't sleep because I slept in the afternoon. I want to show you something, if you don't mind," Mina suggested. "Wait for me downstairs, I'll change and come downstairs," Nayeon said. 

Mina took Nayeon to a small room that was in the yard behind the house. "Do you also have a winter garden? I think you have many secrets that I don't know about," Nayeon joked. "I asked dad to build this garden to spend time here when I'm sick and lonely. I often stay here before sleeping," Minari explained. The room looked like a castle with white curtains hanging from the windows, brightly burning garlands stretched out around the perimeter of the room, and there was a flower section in one corner of the room that Mina was caring for. "You can sit on the sofa while I am cutting the roses. I specifically chose a sofa rather than a wooden bench so I could sit here and relax as much as possible," Mina said, "I'm sorry I got you involved in our family drama". Nayeon sat on the sofa, watching Mina's work passionately, "You don't have to apologize. Even though your dad asked me not to indulge you, I was and will be on your side anyway! Can I help you?". "No, rest, I'm the one who got you out of bed so late. Tell me more about your hobbies. What are you interested in? What kind of movies are you watching?" Mina showed her interest in the person she was talking to and tried to attract Nayeon somehow so she wouldn't get bored. "Over the past few years, I've been so immersed in my studies that all events have passed me by. I sometimes used to go to the movies or events with Jeongyeon," Nayeon said, trying not to fall asleep. "Even though I don't leave home, I try to keep an eye on everything that happens in the world. Because dad won't let me see anyone, I've missed a lot of interesting concerts, festivals, so I'm even glad he hired you, he'll let me go out with you at last," Mina said, "Nayeon?". Minari took a break from watering her favorite roses and looked at the girl. Nayeon slept sweetly, putting her head on a soft pillow. It wasn't a very hard day, but tired Nayeon couldn't overcome her sleep and fell asleep to Mina's quiet and soothing voice. Mina smiled nicely when she saw Nayeon's baby asleep and continued to do her work in the garden. 

An hour later Nayeon woke up from the alarm in the car that was parked in the yard. Ando family was about to leave, so Ichiro went out to the yard to see his friends off. The men drank a lot, and their loud conversations were spreading throughout the mansion. "I'm sorry that my father made you wake up. You fell asleep so suddenly, I decided not to wake you to rest. Do you want me to take you to your room, I've finished all the work?" Mina suggested. The girl helped Nayeon to get up from the sofa. Approaching the entrance to the house, the girls bumped into Mina's father, who looked at them in surprise. Because he was drunk, his mind was distorted and he thought Nayeon and Mina were hugging. "How many times have I told you to stay away from Nayeon?" Ichiro barely said. "We're not hugging, I'm helping Nayeon get to the room. I suggested her to sit in the winter garden, but she fell asleep there, so I want to take her to the room," Mina explained. "Now you go to your room and I'll help Nayeon," dad said. "Myoui-san, Mina just wanted to help me. I can walk by myself," Nayeon let go of Mina's hand. 

Mina has already known what her father was capable of when he was drunk, worried about Nayeon, she took the girl by the shoulder and wanted to go inside with her, but Myoui-san stopped the girls again. "Didn't you hear me very well? I said I'd take Nayeon myself," Ichiro said. When Mina saw that her father was no longer in control and that it was dangerous to be around him, she took Nayeon's hand and quickly ran into the house. "Let's go quickly to your room. Thank God I didn't think of leaving you alone with him, I can`t even imagine what he was thinking about!" Mina went into the room with Nayeon and locked the door. The girls heard a man climbing the stairs carelessly, saying something loud and unintelligible. "What will we do? No one can help us!" Nayeon asked anxiously. "Don't worry, everything will be fine! We will call the police, but usually, when that happens, my father doesn't come to my room, but goes to his room and falls asleep there. Let's hope we get lucky today!" Mina tried to calm down Nayeon, who has panic in her eyes, "It seemed quiet, either he went to his room or he fell asleep on the sofa in the living room, which is on the second floor," Mina said uncertainly. "Stay in my room for the night, then," Nayeon suggested. "Don't worry, everything will be fine! I'll go and check!" Mina answered. She opened the door and left the room. A minute later, Nayeon shuddered at the sharp knock on the door, she opened it carefully and saw Mina in front of her. "As I said, he's sleeping in his room, so we have nothing to be afraid of until tomorrow morning, I don't think he will even remember what happened today. Go to bed, it's my fault for what happened. But I've figured out a way to atone for my guilt, so you'll have a surprise tomorrow," Mina said enthusiastically, "Good night!" Mina checked Nayeon locked the door and went to her room. 


	7. Surprise for Nayeon

Nayeon threw the blanket off and got out of bed briskly when she saw it was 10:00 in the morning. She quickly cleaned herself up and went down to the dining room, where Mina and her father had already had breakfast. "I'm sorry, but I guess I didn't hear the alarm clock," Nayeon said nervously as she entered the hall. Myoui-san didn't even look at the girl. "I'm glad you slept well. Now have a good breakfast, because I've prepared a surprise for you and I need you full of strength," Mina replied, who was in a good mood for the first time in a long time. Even dad was surprised to see a sincere smile on his daughter's face: 'Why are you so happy this morning? Usually, you're so gloomy." "I want to ride horses with Nayeon if you don't mind," Mina said. Ichiro only said he'd ask the driver to prepare the car. When Mina finished her breakfast, she went into the staff room, embarrassing many people because the owners usually don't go into the staff rooms. "As soon as you're ready, come down to the car and I'll be waiting for you," Mina told Nayeon.

Nayeon did not take long to wait, and thirty minutes later she was sitting in Mina's car. "Where are we going?" Nayeon asked. "I told you it was a surprise, I hope you won't be disappointed. The only thing that can disappoint is that we're going for an hour and a half," Mina warned.

"Have we arrived yet? I didn't even notice I fell asleep!" Nayeon woke up as soon as the driver turned off the engine. "I was surprised myself, I wanted us to talk, but I saw that you were asleep. Anyway, we're already there," Mina replied. Getting out of the car, Mina asked the driver to pick up the girls tonight and to warn her father. 

Nayeon was still perplexed by where Mina had taken her. It was only clear when the girls started to approach the small wooden house that Nayeon could smell the stables. "Why did you decide to bring me here?" Nayeon asked. "I'm supposed to have a riding class today, but I thought I'd better take you with me and just relax and ride the horses," Minari said smilingly. She said hello to her instructor, who had prepared the horse she had always ridden. "Wait for me outside. Now I'll arrange everything and come back," Mina said. While Minari talked to her instructor about something, Nayeon studied the area. Next to the stables, there was a lake with ducks and swans resting on it, near the stables there was a house for the base staff, two playpens for classes and a pergola.

Half an hour later, Mina took her horse out of the stables, and Nayeun froze when she saw her in a riding uniform: redingot, beige pants, and boots looked at Mina as if she had already been born in this suit. "Didn't expect to see me in this?" Mina asked. Nayeon was looking at Mina for a few seconds, which made her uncomfortable that Nayeoni was staring so closely. "Are you okay, or did my uniform affect you so much?" Mina snapped her fingers in front of Nayeoni's face to make her wake up. After that, Nayeon quickly nodded to accept that she didn't expect to see Mina in her uniform: "I'm sorry, but your uniform fits very well, so it's impossible to take my eyes off of you!". Mina took Nayeon's hand with a reins in her other hand and led towards the lake: "We are not going to ride on the training ground, we are going to the lake. I want to warn you right away that you'll be riding a horse today, not me. I promised you a surprise, so you're gonna get some nice emotions from everything going on today. I let my instructor go because today I will be your instructor." 

When they reached the lake, she gave Nayeon instructions on how to ride a horse and then helped the girl to saddle up. "Are you comfortable sitting?" Mina said. When Nayeon responded positively, Mina reminded her to sit evenly, otherwise, she would lose her balance. When Mina was finished with the instruction, she slowly started walking, leading the horse. When the horse moved, Nayeon began to make frightening noises, but Mina immediately calmed her down: "Keep sitting flat, after a while, you will get used to it". Nayeon was still tense and to relax, she decided to have a conversation with Mina: "Did your father say anything to you about yesterday?". "Nothing at all, he probably doesn't remember what happened yesterday, and even if he does or was told, I don't care anyway. It's already happened," Mina said without turning around, "Do you want me to give you reins so you can ride the horse yourself?". "What? No, you better! I'm still scared," Nayeon said. "You know, I have an idea. Let's go around the lake and go back to the base," Mina said enthusiastically. 

The girls returned to the stable, and Mina asked the instructor to help Nayeon get off the horse and remove the saddle, while she went to the warehouse to get something. Mina returned just a few minutes later, holding a saddle for two people. "I thought it'd be great to ride together," Mina said, handing the saddle over to the instructor. "Wrap me tight if you're still scared," Mina said as she climbed the horse. Nayeon was still nervous, but after Mina's suggestion, she felt more comfortable. She put her hands together on Mina's stomach and pressed her head to Mina`s back. "You don't have to press down like that," Mina joked, "Are you ready? Don't be afraid, I'm good at horseback riding." Mina was already very experienced in riding, the horse did not move once under Mina's control, and Nayeon finally managed to relax completely. "You only let me go at the end of our ride. Maybe I should have taken you to the dolphinarium." Mina kept joking. "You made me feel much more relaxed to ride. I'm sorry if I ruined your surprise, but this is the first time I've ever ridden a horse today," Nayeon replied. "You don't have to apologize. Some people can't ride at all, because as soon as they get on the horse, they yell and squeal and only scare the animal, and you've behaved very well," Mina calmed down. "Aren't you hungry? I am very hungry. Why don't we get something to eat after the walk?". "I'm all for it! Especially since my legs are starting to hurt," Nayeon said. 

Mina jumped off her horse first to help Nayeoni get off, but Nayeon`s foot slipped off the stress, and she almost fell to the ground. Mina managed to catch her. It happened so quickly that Nayeon didn't have time to realize how she grabbed Mina and pinned her to herself. "Are you all right?" Mina asked. Nayeon's face was very close to Mina's and she could even feel Minari's breath and heartbeat. Nayeon had never looked so close to Mina, she felt she had crossed the border between herself and her mistress because for Mina Nayeon was still a servant, not a close person. "It's a good thing I caught you, I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't reacted in time," Mina was very scared because it was her fault that Nayeon could have gotten hurt and seriously injured, "Sit in the gazebo for a while, I'll change now and the driver will pick us up".

While Nayeon was waiting for Mina, she remembered what happened a few minutes ago: the warmth that came from Mina, how strong Mina held Nayeon, even though Mina seemed so fragile, her face like that of a porcelain doll, which Nayeon could see so closely for the first time, and her brown eyes, in which there was a dark abyss. "Are we coming?" Mina said, "Nayeon, are you here? You're going out of your mind all the time today." "I'm just very impressed by your surprise, and by what you've decided to spend all day doing, for me," Nayeon said. "We're going to an interesting place, I like it because your table can be curtained, and no one sees you or bothers you, a paradise for those who want to be alone," Mina took Nayeon's hand and drove to the car so as not to keep the driver waiting. 

"Miko, pick us up in an hour," Mina asked. When she got out of the car, she asked Nayeon to follow her because she had been to the restaurant where the girls had been brought to. They were put at Mina's favorite table and offered a menu. Instead of chairs, the table was surrounded by soft sofas, so the girls sat next to each other, not in front of. "Order whatever you want!", Mina said. "I feel uncomfortable, and I don't know what to order," Nayeon was confused. Mina called the waiter and ordered the same for Nayeon, as she ordered for herself.

The restaurant director knew Mina's father personally, so her order was prepared very quickly, and after fifteen minutes on the table, there were two juicy steaks, cold cola, and strawberry ice cream. "Is that what you usually order? It's a strange combination!" Nayeon laughed. "You should have chosen what you want, and now you have to suffer," Mina said flirty. 

Over the conversations, the girls didn't notice they ate their steaks. "You still have ice cream to eat, you ordered it yourself," Nayeon joked, "If you want, I can feed you." "Well, you know what? Since you're in such a good mood, come on, no one can see us anyway, thanks to this restaurant for making these curtains up," Minari said. "I must say that you've changed a bit. You've been so silent, closed, and now you're full of enthusiasm as if you were a completely different person in front of me," Nayeoni confessed. "Maybe that's the way it is. Maybe your appearance has changed me," Mina answered mysteriously. Nayeon scooped up the ice cream with a spoon and brought it to Mina's lips. They started fooling around, and Mina's mouth was covered in ice cream. "You're like a baby who's been smeared with porridge!" Nayeon started laughing loudly. "You smeared me, now you have to wipe my mouth with a napkin," Mina couldn't stop laughing either. For the first time, Nayeon had seen Mina laughing as if she had forgotten all her problems. "Does this song really sound in this restaurant?" Nayeon was surprised. "Who's singing it?", Mina looked at Nayeon with bewilderment. "It's Lovely by Billie Eilish. Lately, it's like she's been following me. I didn't think it would sound like that in such a serious restaurant," Nayeon replied. She took a napkin to wipe Mina's mouth: "Such soft napkins". She approached Mina's face and gently began removing the ice cream. Mina kept staring at Nayeon, which was very embarrassing for the girl. She tried not to look into Mina's eyes, but every time their eyes collided, Nayeon's heart started to beat stronger. "That`s all? Did you clean my face?" Mina asked. Nayeon didn't answer. "Are you again deep in yourself?" Mina couldn't understand why Nayeoni didn't answer her. Her brown eyes allured Nayeon as if she had been hypnotized by them. Mina raised her eyebrows in surprise, trying to understand what was happening to her subordinate. "You're fine..." Mina didn't have time to finish the phrase because Nayeon kissed Mina on the lips. It was so sudden that Mina became numb from that kiss. 

"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what got into me! That song also sounds. I'm sorry for that stupidity," said Nayeon, and moved away from Mina. 


	8. Betrayal

Nayeon turned away from Mina and covered her face with her hands, placing her elbows on the table. She was ashamed to look at Mina. When the pause was already indecently long, Mina decided to take the initiative into her own hands: "You can't blame yourself for this. I honestly didn't expect you to do that after you talked about having a relationship with a guy, I thought you weren't capable of that". Only after those words, Nayeon got her hands off her face, but she was still afraid to look at Minari. "I don't understand how it happened. Sometimes it's like you're hypnotized, and now it happened to me. It's as if I drowned in your eyes. Anyway, I'm sorry I broke the line between us like that. It won't happen again!" Nayeon apologized again. "I think it's time for us to go home, the driver will be here now," Mina said to finish this conversation.

As soon as the girls came home, miss Yoshida met them in the hallway: "Myoui-san is waiting for you both in his office right now!". "If it's because of me, I'll explain everything to your father," warned Nayeon. When they entered the office, they saw Myoui-san sitting on the sofa drinking whiskey. They could see from his face that he was very angry. "Dad, what's wrong?" Mina asked. "Do you think I'm such an idiot and I don't know anything? Do you think I won't know how you're hitting on Nayeon? How many times do I have to say it again to make you understand?" Ichiro said without looking at his daughter. "Myoui-san, Mina had nothing to do with this, it's my fault. I don't know how it happened, but I take full responsibility. Don't punish Mina, please!" Nayeon tried to justify herself. "Mina, go to your room. Nayeon, stay late," said Myoui-san. When Mina left the office, Nayeon kept standing in front of a man. "Sit down on the sofa!" Ichiro suggested. Nayeon meekly sat down next to the man. "You mustn't take the blame for Mina, I know that this girl can do any kind of trick to attract attention and charm everyone. So it's no wonder you couldn't resist Mina. But please don't let her take advantage of it, or she'll start to think that you might have feelings for her. She must remember that she has a fiancé with whom she is about to marry," said Myoui-san. "I'm ashamed of what I did. Your daughter has prepared a wonderful surprise for me, and it must have affected me," explained Nayeon. "I understand everything. Just communicate with Mina more distantly, showing that you are not interested in communicating with her so that she doesn't think you are her best friend. This is primarily a job for you, not a vacation in Japan," Mina's father said. "Myoui-san, can I take tomorrow off? So much has happened over the past few days that I feel like I need to get some rest," Nayeon asked. "Of course, if you need a driver, you can ask him for help," said the man. "Thank you so much. Can I go to my room?" Nayeon already wanted to get up and leave the room, but Ichiro stopped her. "Since you're taking the day off, would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow night? At this event, all men must be with women, so I suggest you come with me," Ichiro said and moved on to Nayeon. She felt incredibly uncomfortable when a man started breaking personal boundaries and she smelled the alcohol coming from Myoui-san.

"Myoui-san, I don't understand you a bit. I work as a servant for Mina, not as a specially bought woman for your meetings, if you know what I mean," Nayeon said harshly but politely. It's as if the man didn't hear what Nayeon said. He came even closer to her and ran his index finger down her knee: "You can come with me, not as a woman I bought, but simply as my woman. You're a very attractive girl, no wonder even Mina looks at you, but only Mina is stupid and boring, and with me, you can have everything!". "Myoui-san, good night, I have to go," Nayeon quickly got up from the sofa, but the man grabbed her roughly by the hand and wouldn't let go, even though Nayeon was trying to get away. "If you behave badly, I can fire you and you will return to Korea, to your poverty," Ichiro warned. "If you don't let me go now, I'll scream, Mina will come and see you hitting on me," said Nayeon. Ichiro let the girl go, but before Nayeon came out of the office, he said a few words to her: "Do you think I care about Mina's opinion? If I said you'd go to dinner with me tomorrow, then that's the way it is! Good night!".

When Nayeon returned to her room, she decided to take a foam bath, but someone knocked on the door. When she opened the door, she saw Mina before her. "What were you talking to dad about? Is everything okay?", Mina nervously asked. "Yes, everything's fine! Sorry, I'm taking the day off tomorrow to get some rest, and now I want to take a bath. Good night!" Nayeon replied very coldly, as she had promised Mina's father, and even at some point felt ashamed in front of Minari. After Nayeon had closed the door, Mina stood outside Nayeon's room for a few more seconds, unaware of why Nayeon answered as if they had hardly known each other, but did not want to disturb her again, so she went to her room and went to bed. 

At breakfast, Mina was trying to find out from her father what he said to Nayeon yesterday: "What did you tell her that she didn't want to talk to me?". "I just told her not to react to your possible feelings, and she asked me to give her the day off so she'd already left on her own business with the driver," dad replied. Mina did not believe the man's words, there was no trust between them, so she silently continued to have breakfast and think about what might have happened yesterday. 

Mina was dying of boredom all day, she was beginning to realize that only with Nayeon she had fun and now she was gone, and Mina did not know how to entertain herself, not even movies, dogs and her winter garden helped. Mina tried to write a message to Nayeon and ask her where she was and how she was doing, but there was no answer, which made her think that this silence could have been caused by Mina's behavior and she began to feel guilty again.

Nayeon decided to go shopping to relax a little and free her head from the bad thoughts that had accumulated in her head in recent days. After spending a few hours at the mall, a driver came to pick her up and told her what Myoui-san had said: "Ichiro asked me to tell you to get ready for tonight, the outfit is already in your room. He warned you that if you refuse, there will be serious consequences that you can't even imagine, so I don't recommend giving a negative answer. After Miko had finished saying this, he turned to Nayeon as a friend: "Nayeon, I do not advise to refuse. He is a scary man and is capable of many things. I only work for him because my family needs money. Just wait a couple of hours and it'll be over. I'll be there for you and help you if you need it." Nayeon didn't answer anything, she leaned back in the seat and the driver took her home to prepare for the event.

"Dad, Nayeon is still not here, maybe you should call her, it's late." - Mina started worrying about Nayeon's absence. Dad calmed down Mina while he tied his tie: "Calm down, she's an adult and can spend her day off as she wants! By the way, I'm leaving for an important meeting when I get back - I don't know, so don't wait up for me". When Nayeon returned home, she managed to avoid meeting Mina. In her room on the bed, there was a luxurious evening long dress, gently pink, and high heels shoes. Nayeon was already ready, but she heard Mina return to her room. She opened the door quietly so that Mina wouldn't hear that Nayeon was at home, walked barefoot to the exit and put on her shoes. The car had already been delivered and Ichiro was standing at the car door waiting for Nayeon. Mina came to the window to see her father but was even more stunned when she saw Nayeon leaving the house dressed up and get into the car with her father.


	9. Disneyland

Mina decided to wait for her father and Nayeon to arrive, even if they returned far after midnight. She had the most terrible thoughts about why Nayeon had got into the car with him in this dress, even though she thought Nayeon might have had an affair with the man behind Mina's back. As soon as the car drove into the yard, Mina came to the window and saw Ichiro as the first person to get out of the car and enter the house quickly. Mina ran out of the room and waited for her father to go to his room to meet Nayeon on the stairs. When the girls bumped into each other on the stairs, Nayeon wanted to walk silently, but Mina blocked the way with her hand and fiddled herself against the railing. "What's going on, why are you coming back with my father like this from the party?" Mina asked, trying to hide her anger. "Why don't we talk about this tomorrow? I'm very tired!" Nayeon replied and wanted to go to her room, but Mina still didn`t let her go. "You haven't answered my messages all day, after talking to your father in the office, you talked to me as if we hardly knew each other. I don't understand what happened to you. Did my dad say something to you about me?", Mina asked the questions. "It has nothing about you at all, the world doesn't revolve around you," Nayeon said and took Mina's hand off. 

"You can tell me everything, I'm ready to listen to you. Don't push me away," Mina followed Nayeon to her room, trying to reach the girl, but it was as if she was shouting at the wall. "I'm your maid, I came to work and make money, not to have fun with you. I may have my own secrets that I shouldn't tell you," Nayeon knew she didn't believe what she was saying, but she wanted to get out of the conversation as soon as possible. "You came to work, really? Why did you go everywhere with me and take all my offers? You even kissed me but then made a step back? People who are only interested in work and nothing else don`t that. Maybe you've been sleeping with my father since the first day, and you need his money? Do you think I don't see the way he looks at you and how jealous he is when we're spending time together?" Mina started to talk emotionally and stopped controlling herself. Nayeon didn't answer anything, she silently walked up to Mina and slapped her and then went to her room. This slap could bring Mina to her senses a little. It was only after a while that the girl realized that she had said these terrible words with her emotions, for which she had to apologize. 

Nayeon was about to go to bed, but she was distracted by a video call from Jeongyeon. "Hey, onnie, how are you? It's been a while since we talked," Jeongyeon was very happy to see her friend. Nayeon could barely contain her tears, and Jeongyeon couldn't help but notice it. "What happened Nayeoni? Who hurt you?" Jeongyeon started asking. Nayeon decided to tell her friend everything that had happened in the past two days, and when she finished talking about it, Nayeon felt relieved as if a heavy load had fallen off her shoulders. "Onnie, I warned you it was dangerous, I don't know what to advise you, because I can't tell you out of this job, you need money. It's just a matter of patience, but don't be so rude to Mina anymore," Jeongyeon said, "I'm calling you for a reason. I found the information you asked for. I'll write you this woman's address and phone number now, but then I'll delete the message right away. This woman lives in Kobe, in the poorest district. My father only managed to find the address and phone number, nothing else. "Jongy, thank you so much. I don't know how to thank you," it was the only thing that made Nayeon happy, "I have something else to tell you. I accidentally kissed Mina." Nayeon knew that it could hurt Jeongyeon because she had feelings for Nayeon, but she decided to confess. "How can you accidentally kiss a person?" Jeongyeon laughed. "It just happened to be like a fog," Nayeoni explained. "Japan has changed you so much. I never thought you could kiss a girl," her friend kept joking to cheer Nayeoni up. "Didn't that upset you?", she said. "No, I have no right to be jealous of you," Jeon said. "You know how much I care about you. Thank you for helping me. I'm sorry, but I'm very tired. Let's talk tomorrow," Nayeon said goodbye to her friend, turned off her laptop and went to bed. 

Nobody woke up Mina in the morning, although it is usually done by Nayeon, but today Mina did not expect help from her after what she said to the girl. Mina went down to the dining room and saw Nayeon sitting next to her father at the table. "Minari, we already thought you wouldn't come down, sit down," dad said enthusiastically. It was the first time Mina saw her father in a good mood. "What's going on here?", she looked at Mina's father being puzzled. "What's going on here? Can't I invite my daughter to the table? By the way, Nayeon said you were in a bad mood yesterday, so I decided to pick you up and send you with Nayeon to Disneyland in Tokyo, so now you're going to the airport and from there straight to the amusement park," Mina's father thought it would make his daughter happy, but she kept sitting there with her frowning face. "I don't want to Disneyland, I've got plenty of fun at home," Mina said. "Right, I'm tired of listening to you whining all the time! If I said you were going to Tokyo, then you will. You don't have a choice, as you know! Don't you want to spend time with Nayeon?", dad ridiculously looked at Mina. He walked out of the table and held his hand on Nayeon`s shoulder as he walked past her, which made Nayeon shudder. When Mina saw this scene, a fire broke out inside her, she did not understand why she had such a reaction to it, she should not care about the servant, but when she saw the way her father touched Nayeon, she woke up with terrible jealousy and hatred for her father. Before she finished her breakfast, Mina left the dining room and went to pack her backpack for the trip. 

While the girls were going to the airport, they didn't say a word to each other. The driver drove them to a private plane that was already waiting for the passengers. "I'm leaving you two alone, as Myoui-san said! They'll meet you at the airport and take you to your destination," said the driver. "Are you coming or are you staying here?" Mina asked, and Nayeon immediately followed Mina on the gangway to the plane. Already during the flight, Nayeon tried to talk to Mina. "Minari, I'm sorry about yesterday. I'm not ready to tell you what happened yet, but you should know that it's not your fault," Nayeon said. "No, I'm the one who should apologize to you for my behavior and for what I said to you yesterday. I just didn't expect to see what I saw, so I said it all on the emotions!" Mina replied, "I hope what you said about work and entertainment is not what you meant, because you're coming to have fun with me now". "Honestly, I don't even remember what I said because I was very tired, but anyway, I don't think so. I've broken the line between us so many times that I'm already embarrassed," Nayeon reacted. The plane had already landed and after this conversation, the tension between the girls was slightly reduced, but Mina was still worried about what was going on between her father and Nayeon. 

At the airport, Mina and Nayeon were met by two men who drove them to Disneyland and warned the girls that they would come to pick them up in the evening. "It's a good thing we were left, I feel very uncomfortable when the guards are behind me, I can't be myself with them," Mina said, "Let's take a ride in whatever way we can to forget all the problems". All-day long they were riding on the roller coasters, eating different sweets, looking at the Heroes' Parade, meeting the sunset on the Ferris wheel. At that moment, both Mina and Naнeon felt like the happiest people in the world, they rejoiced at everything they saw as children and it seemed like they had forgotten all the bad things that were going on between them. "Let's agree that we will never fight like this again. I felt really bad, after telling you so many nasty things, I guess I decided we were friends," said Mina. "It's a deal. No more fighting," Naнeon agreed, but Mina noticed that Naнeon had not reacted to her words about friendship. 

"We'll be taken away from here soon, but while we're alone, there's something I want to tell you. I asked my friend Jeongyeon to find your mother's contacts, and she found her address and phone number," Nayeon said. "If you want, we'll try to contact her". Mina didn't know what to say, even though Nayeon had promised to help her find Mina's mother, she didn't expect it to work out. "This is very sudden. I don't even know if I want to talk to her or not. It's been so long since I've seen her," Mina said. "You can think about it, but if you're afraid, I can talk to her myself," Nayeon said. "I don't want to drag you into this, but if you're suggesting it, it's probably best," Mina said. "Fine, then tomorrow we can go out together, better go to a crowded place and call her," Nayeoni said. "I know where I'm taking you tomorrow, I promise you'll like it," Mina was already excited by the new idea.

The girls came home safely, where Mina`s father was already waiting for them. "How was your time?" Myoui-san asked. "We had a good time together," Mina replied. "I'm very happy for you, and now you can mind your own business and I'm waiting for you, Nayeon, in my office," the man said harshly. Mina immediately looked at Nayeon with panic in her eyes. "It's okay, don't worry, we'll just talk about today," Nayeon said. Mina hugged the girl before going to her room. 


	10. Black Swan

Mina met Nayeon in the dining room this morning. Myoui-san ordered Nayeon to sit at the common table, not in a staff room. "Where's dad?" Mina asked. "He left early in the morning, he had some important deal, and he won't be back until tomorrow," Nayeon replied. "That's great, even though there are people around us who report everything to him, the two of us can spend time together. I'll ask the driver to take us to the mall, we can call mother near the food court and then I'll take you somewhere interesting," Mina said. "Fine, let's do that," Nayeon agreed. 

Mina always considered the only good thing that her father had done for her - he hired a driver who understood Mina from half a word. Mina agreed with him that she would call him when the girls could be picked up at the mall so that he would not have to sit with them and waste time. "You can call while I order something for us," Mina suggested. She came back in five minutes, but Nayeon hasn't called yet because she decided to wait for Mina and do it in front of her. "Why did you order for yourself so little? You're going to be hungry soon, aren't you?" Nayeon was surprised. "I can't eat much now, you'll soon understand why," Mina explained. Nayeon dialed the woman's number and waited for an answer. "Hello. My name is Nayeon, I'm your daughter Myoui Mina's servant. Are you comfortable talking to me now?" Nayeoni was very nervous, so she spoke very quickly and inaudibly. She didn't answer, Nayeon started to think she had the wrong number or no signal. "Can you hear me?" Nayeon asked again. When she couldn't stand the silence, Nayeon wanted to interrupt the call, but suddenly the woman answered. "Mina? Is this a joke? I'm not allowed to communicate with Mina," the woman answered. "No, I found your contacts on purpose to contact you. I know your story, and I'm calling now in secret from Mina's father. I wanted to find you so that you could meet your daughter," Nayeon explained. "Does Mina know about this?" said the woman. "Yes, she's sitting next to me now," Nayeon said, "If you don't mind, you can see her whenever you want". "You can come to my house this weekend, Ichiro doesn't know where I live, so come by public transport, not with the driver," the woman asked, "My name is Satoko, by the way. But sign me up differently on your phone. On the eve of the meeting, I'll write to you about the time when you can come". "Fine, I'll see you then," Nayeon answered enthusiastically and disconnected the call. 

"That is it, you'll see your mother this weekend," said Nayeoni. Mina did not know how to react, because she did not know yet whether she was ready for it or not. "I see you've already started to worry, but I'll be there, you just talk and we'll leave as soon as you want. Stop putting up with your father," Nayeon calmed down Mina. "I'm even afraid to imagine what will happen if my father finds out about our plans. I have no idea how he will let us go," said Mina with skepticism in her voice. "We can ask Miko to take us somewhere where it is more convenient to take the bus. Everything will be fine, I promise you!" said Nayeon. 

Mina ignored Nayeon's questions about where she wanted to take her. Even when they arrived at the place that Mina wanted to take Nayeon to, she kept Nayeoni in the dark. Only when they entered the building Nayeon understood what this place was. "Did we come to the ballet studio?", Nayeon looked at Mina surprisingly. "Yes, sometimes I come here to train. Today I decided to show you what I can do," Mina replied. "You stay in the hall for a while, I'll change and come back to you". 

"Do you want to appear in front of me in every image? For the first time, you were in a rider uniform, now you're in the costume of a ballerina, what next?" Nayeon laughed. "Make yourself comfortable, now you can see ballet for free. People usually pay a lot of money for that, but you're lucky," Mina replied. "So as not to burden you with classics, I'll turn on the music from Black Swan movie". Nayeon watched Mina stretch out in her white training dress. But when Mina turned on the music, it was like she turned into a swan. Nayeon was fascinated by Mina's smooth movements as if she had grown the wings. The girl couldn't take her eyes off of how Mina soared in the air every time she jumped. Minari felt the music very well, and her changing character Mina passed on with her body. 

When Mina finished dancing, Nayeon did not even realize that it was over because she felt that time had frozen and that she could admire Mina forever. "Did you like it?" Mina asked. So as not to embarrass the girl again with long pauses, Nayeon decided to answer immediately, but she couldn't put the words together. "It was... I don't know... I'm sorry, I have to go out now," Nayeon said, making Mina more confused and thinking that Nayeon might not like Mina's dance. 

Nayeon ran away to the ladies' room, she could not contain the emotions that swept her from the music and Mina's dance. She did not follow the time and did not know how much she had spent in the room washing her face, but suddenly a loud knock sounded at the door, and Mina entered the room. She was discouraged when she saw Nayeon's face red from tears. "What happened? Why are you crying? Is it because of me again? You've been here for fifteen minutes, I even changed," Mina asked. "I just watched you float through the air, I couldn't take my eyes off you, and you transmitted music so much that I believed in what you were showing. I couldn't help myself, so that's why I'm here," Nayeon said. "To be honest, I didn't think it would impress you so much," Mina said. "Minari, I want to...," Nayeon did not finish the phrase and kissed Mina, but she immediately pushed Nayeon away. "Wait, you're going to say again that you didn't want to, and it just happened," Mina said. "No, I want to kiss you now. I want to," Nayeon reached out to Mina, but Mina moved away from her again. "Really?", Mina asked. Nayeon made a second attempt to kiss Mina: "May I?". Mina nodded silently. That kiss gave Mina the creeps all over her body. She hadn't felt that way in a long time because she hadn't kissed anyone since her relationship with Chaeyoung. "Are you okay?" Nayeon asked. "Yes, let's go home. Why don't you stay in my room tonight?" Mina suggested, and Nayeon immediately agreed.

There was miss Yoshida in the house, who began to resent the girls' late return, but they did not pay any attention to her. Minari and Nayeon hurriedly went to Mina's room. "Should we ask for something to cook?" Mina asked. "I'm not hungry," Nayeon said. She climbed up to Mina's bed and lay next to Minari. They were lying on their sides, looking at each other. Nayeon slowly went through Mina's hair, stroked her face gently, and comforted her in every way. "How I missed it, just lying down with someone like that," Mina confessed. Nayeon moved towards her and kissed her. "Wait, I'm not sure we have to do this now," Mina stopped Nayeon as her hand began to slide down on Mina's body. "Whatever you say," Nayeon agreed. 

A car drove into the yard, Mina went to the window and saw her father getting out of the car. "You said dad wouldn't be back till tomorrow, didn't you?" Mina nervously asked. "He told me so this morning," Nayeon explained. "Miss Yoshida must have called him and told him all about us. Shit!" Mina panicked. 


	11. First tragedy

"Nayeon, what will we do? He looks very angry!" it was the first time when Nayeon saw Mina being so nervous. They could hear loud heavy footsteps on the stairs, the sound of which increased as they approached Mina's room. "Everything will be fine, I promise you," Nayeon hugged Mina to calm her down. They both shuddered at the same time because of the rude knock on the door. "Open up immediately, I know you're there, I'm going to break down the door," said Myoui-san angrily. Nayeon pressed Mina against herself, and when the door to the room was almost broken down, Nayeon stood in front of Mina to cover her from possible danger. When Ichiro broke down the door and broke into the room, he pushed Nayeon back so hard that she hit the wall with her shoulder. "What's going on here? Miss Yoshida called me and told me everything," dad shouted so hard that everyone could be deaf when he was next to Ichiro. Mina walked aside her father for the fear that he might hit her. "I don't know what this woman has told you, but nothing you could have thought of happened," Mina tried to explain herself by squeezing the words out of her. "Myoui-san", Nayeon intervened. "Shut up! I don't want your explanation!", the man interrupted. "My patience burst, I warned you several times! Don't make a fool out of me! I understand very well and see what's going on between you two!" When Myoui-san finished his speech, he hit Mina on the cheek with such force that she fell to the bed. The father had never hit his daughter so hard before, and that hit showed how angry the man was. Nayeon wanted to rush to Mina to see what was wrong with her, but Ichiro grabbed her hand and dragged her to his office. When Mina heard that Nayeon was resisting, she rushed to help the girl. 

Not paying attention to the slap pain, Mina ran after her father, who dragged Nayeon around the house. She almost ran to her father's office when the door slammed in front of her. She started hitting the door with her hands, asking dad to let her in, but all her attempts were in vain. Mina even listened to what could be happening in the room because she was afraid of what dad could do to Nayeon. Minari decided to calm down and get help, but she had no hope because all the guards were on dad's side and it was unlikely that the bodyguards who were in the house would have helped Mina. 

"She's finally gone, and now tell me what's going on here. Why is it that when I'm in an important meeting, the housekeeper calls me and tells me that she hears some inappropriate sounds coming from Mina's room," Ichiro poured himself a whiskey and sat down next to Nayeon. "I can see how dear your daughter is to you since you left the meeting to punch your daughter in the face," said Nayeon without raising her eyes. "Are you going to teach me how to communicate with my daughter? Did you come to my house to earn money? I can kick you out right now, write to you the worst characteristics, agree with the rector of your university that you'll never be able to study there or at other universities again, do you want me to do that?" Ichiro asked, who after a few sips of whiskey looked calm. "I don't want you to treat Mina like this. Why do you hit her, not respecting her choice? If she wants to be with whoever she wants, you should respect that, not think about her embarrassing you. You should think about your daughter first, not your money. You don't love her, or you wouldn't treat her like this," Nayeon answered. "You don't have to teach me how to raise my daughter. Did you come to work? So work, don't fuck my daughter whenever she wants," said Myoui-san. What the man said was the last straw. Nayeon got up from the sofa and slapped the man. She wanted to leave the office, but the door was locked.

"Let me out, I don't want to be in the same room with you," Nayeon asked. Ichiro put a glass of whiskey on the table and came so close to Nayeon that she could smell the alcohol from a man. "I'll let you out if you apologize," Myoui-san said. "I won't apologize, you're the one who said so many nasty things to me that you need to apologize, not me," said Nayeon. "You don't have to apologize, but let's see if Mina wants to be with you afterward," said Myoui-san. "What do you mean?", Nayeon didn't understand what the man was saying. Without answering the girl's question, he grabbed Nayeon's shoulders and threw her onto the sofa. Nayeon wanted to get up right away, but the man lay on her with all his weight that Nayeon couldn't move. She started calling for Mina's help and tried to push Ichiro away, but he was stronger. Nayeon seemed to have no one else in the house because no one had come to help. She started begging the man to let her go, but that weakness made him even stronger. She accepted what Mina's father was going to do to Nayeon, so she decided to close her eyes and forget that she was even in the office of her boss. 

At some point in time, Nayeon felt that she was breathing more easily. When Nayeon opened her eyes, she saw Mina in front of her and Myoui-san was lying on the floor. "What happened?" Nayeon asked. "It's a good thing I made it in time. I asked Miko to help me, he had a key, and he just opened the door. When we came in, he threw dad off you. Don't you remember anything?" Mina asked. "Everything was foggy, I closed my eyes, and what happened next I don't remember. Did your father do something?" Nayeon asked again. "No, I'm telling you we barely made it," Mina calmed down the girl. "Let's get out of here and go into my room as soon as possible." "Miko, thank you for your help," Nayeon thanked the driver. Mina helped Nayeon to button her jeans and took her out of the office by holding her hand.

"How dare you treat me like that, I'm not paying you money to put me on the floor!" Ichiro said furiously, addressing Miko. "My job is to protect not only you, Myoui-san, but everyone in this house, including Nayeon," the man explained. "Okay, I overdid it a bit today. You can go now. No, go to Mina's and tell her that tomorrow there will be an important exhibition at the Art Gallery where she should go with me," Ichiro said. 

Mina brought Nayeoni tea and cookies to calm her down a little and covered the girl with a blanket. "I should have told you all at once. When I was alone with your father a few days ago, he had already started harassing and blackmailing me. I wasn't comfortable being around him. I didn't think it would come to that kind of harassment," Nayeon explained. "Onnie, why didn't you tell me right away? I was so worried. I didn't even think it could happen. Of course, I guessed he was spending time with women, but it doesn't fit in my head that he could do this to you," Mina pinned Nayeon to her, fearing that her father might come back and take her away again. As the door to Mina's room was broken down, Miko appeared in the doorway. He quietly called for Mina so as not to wake up Nayeon, who had fallen asleep in Minari's arms. Mina was angry that after all that had happened today, his father wanted Mina to go out with him. She understood that she had no choice, so she accepted her father's instructions. The only thing that made her happy was that Nayeon would be with her. 

"Good morning, onnie!" Mina woke up a long time ago, she was lying next to Nayeon and watching the girl sleep. Nayeon smiled when she saw Mina's face. "How are you feeling?" Mina asked. "I feel better now, but my head hurts a little," Nayeon said, "We slept like this all night without a door?". "Yes, but I was promised that the door would be replaced today," Mina laughed. "By the way, we only have to go to some kind of exhibition today so that my father can paint in front of the cameras again. If you don't want to go, you can stay at home," Mina said. "No, I will go. If I stay here alone, I'll feel even worse," said Nayeon. "Okay, then, while you're lying in bed, I'll bring you breakfast, I don't want you to see my father now," Mina said, but Nayeon pulled her to kiss. "Nayeoni, we won't have time to eat breakfast and get ready for the event," Mina said, "You know, this is the first time I feel happy despite all the bad things that have happened here". Mina kissed Nayeon again and left for breakfast. 

Myoui-san appeared in the doorway. When Nayeon noticed him, she tried to hide completely under the blanket. He entered the room without permission and sat down on the bed next to Nayeon. "Don't come near me, or I'll scream," Nayeon said. "I want to apologize for what happened yesterday. I was not myself," the man said. "I don't care what you are saying. I decided not to go to the police just for Mina. Just don't come near me," Nayeon said. "What are you doing here?" when Nayeon saw Mina with the tray in her hands, she felt relieved that she wouldn't have to be alone with Ichiro anymore. "I wanted to apologize to Nayeon," the man explained. "If you apologized, you can go now. Yes, and ask them to set the door as soon as possible," Mina answered. The man had no choice but to leave his daughter's room, but before that, he warned them to start packing because the driver would pick them up soon. "What did he want from you? Did he bother or threaten you?" Mina was angry that her father let himself go to Nayeon after what happened. "He wanted to apologize, but I don't want to see him now. I'm sorry," said Nayeon. "You don't have to apologize for anything and blame yourself for it. I understand!" Mina tried to calm down Nayeon, even though she couldn't imagine how stressful Nayeon was, "You have breakfast for now and I'll take a shower, but if you're in danger, shout and I'll come and rescue you!"

When Mina and Nayeon arrived at the gallery, they went straight to the other side of the hall so as not to be near Ichiro and his friends. At the exhibition, Mina saw Yoshie, whom she would have to marry, he was with some girl and Mina was even happy that they might not have to marry. The young man noticed Mina, at first he got nervous, but when Mina smiled at him with approval, he decided not to approach her and continued to communicate with people around him. "I'll get you something to drink," Nayeon suggested. "Okay, but come back soon," Minari asked. While Nayeon went out to get drinks, the gala part of the exhibition began and the host introduced the author of the works that were displayed at the gallery. "Let's thank the person who made this event happen today. Meet Son Chaeyoung," said the host. As soon as Mina heard the name, she changed her face and looked at her father, who did not even listen to what was happening on stage and continued to communicate with his friends. "Chaeyoung? This isn't your ex-girlfriend you went to school with?," Mina didn't notice that Nayeon returned with two glasses of champagne. She was in deep shock looking at Chaeyoung because she didn't think she would ever see her again. "I'll be right back," Mina gave the glass to Nayeon and approached the stage. When Chaeyoung started talking into the microphone, she suddenly interrupted because she saw Mina in the front row. Chaeyoung could finish her speech when Mina kindly smiled at her.


	12. Phantoms from the past

"Chaeyoungie, what are you doing here? I thought we'd never see each other again," Mina hugged Chaeyoung as soon as she approached Mina. "As you can see, I'm presenting my works. To be honest, your appearance was a surprise to me too. How long has it been since I've seen you? About 7 years? You've changed so much!" Chaeyoung replied. Dad noticed Mina talking to a girl he knew. He was going to come over and interrupt the conversation, but Nayeon understood his intentions and blocked his way. "Don't spoil your daughter's mood. If you make a scandal now, it will go straight to all the newspapers. Look at all the photographers and journalists here, you don't want your reputation to be ruined. Let Mina be happy for at least one day," Nayeon said. She kept standing next to Ichiro to stop him from approaching Mina and Chaeyoung, she was even prepared to tolerate his company's conversations just so he wouldn't disturb his daughter. 

"I don't even have your phone number, I've looked for you on all the social networks. The only thing I have left is our pictures together," admitted Mina. "I don't like to spend much time on the internet, I only have messengers. Why don't I leave you my number?" Chaeyoung wrote the number on a small piece of paper and gave it to Mina, "By the way, meet my girlfriend Yeri." The girl came up to Chaeyoung and hugged her. "We met at the Seoul Institute of Art," Chaeyoung said. When she found out that Chaeyoung now has a girlfriend, Mina couldn't understand what she was feeling at the moment: jealousy, regret or envy. "Nayeon, can you come here?" Mina called. When Nayeon came over, she wanted to introduce herself as Mina's maid, but Minari immediately interrupted her and said, "This is my girlfriend, we just started dating". Although officially Mina and Nayeon were not in a relationship, it was a complete surprise to Nayeon that Mina introduced her as her girlfriend. The first thing that came to Nayeon's mind was that Mina wanted to make Chaeyoung jealous. "We'll be in Japan for a few more days, we could meet if you want to," Chaeyoung suggested. "Fine, let's do it tomorrow, because we have plans this weekend," Mina said. "I'll write you a place and time tonight," Chaeyoung said. She had to say goodbye to Mina because Yeri took Chaeyoung to the photographers to take pictures together. 

"Are you all right? You're not wearing a face!", Nayeon was worried. "I'm confused right now, I don't even know how I feel. We haven't seen each other in so many years, and it was so embarrassing to look at each other," Mina explained, "Do you mind if I meet Chayeoyung without you?". "You might not even have asked, of course, you two should talk, and I'll be superfluous," Nayeon said, "If you want, we can get out of here". "Yes, I want to go home," Minari agreed. To Mina's great surprise, her father let her go, and before leaving the exhibition, Mina looked at Chaeyoung again, but she was having fun with her girlfriend. 

"Let's just lie on the bed in silence, I don't want to watch anything now or play anything," Mina suggested. After the event, she was depressed because of her meeting with Chaeyoung, Mina did not say a word on the way home. Nayeon lay down next to Mina and pressed on to her: "Why did you introduce me as your girlfriend?" Nayeon asked. "I don't know, I don't want to think of you as my servant, you're more than just a servant or friend. I don't know what to call it. But I don't understand why I got upset when I saw Chaeyoung with her girlfriend. It's been so long, my feelings for her have cooled down, but when I saw them together, it was like something clicked in me," Mina said. "It's okay to meet someone from the past and have an avalanche of memories flying at you, and there's nothing you can do about it. The only thing you can do is to meet Chaeyoung tomorrow, talk about everything, maybe you've both changed so much that you have nothing to talk about and you'll even regret meeting her," Nayeon knew she wasn't the best advisor in this situation, but she wanted to support Mina, "Damn! I completely forgot, I have to call my friend, I promised to call her every day, but we haven't talked for three days, I hope she's not offended. I'll be back soon, don't miss me". "Of course, I still want to be alone with myself for now," Mina let Nayeon go and covered herself with a blanket. 

"Onnie, what's wrong? I thought we agreed to call every day. I was beginning to worry that something had happened to you," Jeongyeon asked with excitement. "Jeongyeon, you have no idea what happened over the past few days," Nayeon said that she had managed to contact Mina's mother and that Myoui-san had harassed her. "Nayeon, are you sure it's not dangerous to stay in this family? I'm beginning to worry about you. If you keep telling me this, I'll come to Japan and pick you up," Jeongyeon said. "You know I need money, so I tolerate this kind of work! By the way, I even got my first salary the other day," Nayeon explained. "Why do you tolerate such an attitude? Even if you're well paid, you shouldn't tolerate all this harassment," said Nayeon`s friend. "That's not all that happened. There's something else I have to tell you. You remember when I said I accidentally kissed Mina, right? I kissed her again, but it was already conscious, that is, I wanted to do it and she also introduced me as her girlfriend at an event," Nayeon confessed. "It's your business who to kiss, you say that because you feel guilty? I told you that I don't care if I have feelings for you, I have no right to object to anything. It's your business and only yours," Jeongyeon tried to stay calm, but there was jealousy in her voice. "Hey, what are you jealous of? You say it's my business, but I can see how you get turned on by what I told you! What's wrong with that? You can say it straight!" Nayeon tried to joke with her friend so she wouldn't get into a conflict. "No matter how I feel, are you afraid to upset me? You already did that when you didn't reciprocate my feelings. But it's not your fault. Why are we talking about this? Honestly, I don't want to talk about it anymore, I have to go! See you later," Jeongyeon abruptly interrupted the call, which came as a complete surprise to Nayeon because her friend never said goodbye or lost her temper. Now Nayeon blamed herself that Jeongyeon being mad at her. She went back to Mina's room and lay under the blanket, pressing herself against her Mina`s back. "How did you talk to her friend?", the girl asked. "Not good, I told her about us. Although when I told her about the first accidental kiss, she reacted normally, but after I told her that the second time I already wanted to kiss you, she probably got jealous. I'll take care of it, don't worry," Nayeon replied, "I didn't even notice that you had a new door". "I forgot about its existence," Mina laughed. Nayeon pressed Mina even harder and wrapped her hand around her so that Mina would feel support.

Nayeon drove Mina to the restaurant where she was supposed to meet Chaeyoung. "What will you do while I'm here?" Mina asked. "I'll go shopping and buy us something delicious for tonight. If you want us to pick you up, call me right away," Nayeon asked. "Okay, I have to go now," Mina kissed Nayeon on the cheek and got out of the car. She was to meet Chaeyoung at the restaurant that was far from downtown and not as expensive as all the restaurants Mina's father had taken her. Chaeyoungie was sitting alone at the table, which made Mina happy because she wanted to be alone with her. "Did you come alone? I thought you'd be with your girlfriend," Mina asked. "She knows our story, so she said we should talk without any unnecessary people," Chaeyoung explained. "Remember when we used to run around here after school for burgers?"."Is this the right place? I didn't even recognize it! It's changed so much, I kept wondering why the address seemed so familiar," Mina was nervous at first in front of Chaeyoung, but managed to relax quickly. The girls talked a little, and the waiter brought burgers and the chips which Chaeyoung ordered. "Did you order exactly what we took?" Mina asked enthusiastically. "Did you think I just asked if you remember this place? Tell me what happened then, we stopped talking so abruptly, I understood why it happened, but I was hoping we could at least talk," Chaeyoung asked and took a large bite of a burger. "Somehow, dad found out about our relationship, there was a terrible scandal at home, after that he wouldn't let me out of the house, only to school, and the teachers even made sure we didn't talk. I wrote you notes, but they took everything away from me. When I graduated, my father wouldn't let me go to university because after our relationship, he was afraid I might get to know someone again, so I studied at home. That's how I still sit with my dad, but I had Nayeon in my life and felt a little better because after we broke up, I cried in my pillow every day until the pain had subsided. When I saw you at the exhibition, I was even afraid that my father might notice you," Mina finished her story and started eating, too. 

"Your father probably didn't tell you, but I came to your house, and security didn't let me through. Myoui-san came out to me and explained everything, I was even surprised that your father spoke very calmly. What was I supposed to do? I gave up trying to talk to you. I certainly didn't cry in my pillow like you, but it was really hard for me, I couldn't study for my exams properly. After graduation, I went back to Seoul and went to the institute, where I met Yeri at some event, after that, we started talking closely, and then we decided to start dating. She helped me a lot to go through this difficult period in my life, which I had because of what happened between you and me. Hell, I didn't think these memories would make me cry," Chayeyoung didn't want to show Mina her tears, so she tried to wipe them off quickly. Minari took Chaeyoung's hand to calm the girl: "It's my fault you survived all this if it wasn't me, not my father, you wouldn't have had all this negativity". "Don't you dare blame yourself, I didn't regret spending time with you for a moment because I was happy to be around you, the circumstances just so happened," Chaeyoung immediately interrupted Mina. They spent two hours in a restaurant just talking, telling each other what has happened in their lives over the past few years. 

"I want to walk you home, it`s too far to go, so I'll call us a taxi, or maybe you want to call your driver," Chaeyoung said. "No, I am for a taxi, I want to be with you as long as possible," Mina said. After the girls had paid the bill, Chaeyoung suggested waiting outside for a taxi, and she went straight to the big swing that was at the restaurant's entrance: "Remember how we used to sit on it all the time? I remember that time with such warmth." Chaeyoung sat on the swing and started swinging, "Do you want to join me?" Mina turned down Chaeoni's offer, she had memories from her teenage life, and she held on to her last strength so she wouldn't cry. When Chaeyoung noticed this, she immediately got up from the swing and went to Mina to find out what had happened, why her mood had changed so much in a split second. Mina had already forgotten the last time Chaeyoung had stood so close to her and looked in Mina`s eyes. "I can't do this anymore," that phrase came out of Mina's mouth and she kissed Chaeyoung. 


	13. Disaster

Chaeyoung didn't expect Mina would kiss her, she unexpectedly pushed Mina away. The girls looked at each other silently for a few seconds, but Mina reached out to Chaeyoung again and the girl did not resist and replied to Mina's kiss. Minari kissed Chaeyoung with all her passion like she hadn't kissed Nayeon a few days ago. Chaeng abruptly interrupted the kiss and took Mina by the shoulders: "We shouldn't have done that. Let's not stir up the past." Mina stepped aside and cried without being embarrassed that Chaeyoung could see her like that. "I'm sorry, I promised myself I wouldn't give in to the temptation, but I couldn't handle it. Maybe I'm lying to myself, and I still have feelings for you," Mina said through her tears. Chaeng hugged the crying girl and started to calm her down, stroking her back: "Minari, we must stop living by the memories that we had, we both changed, it so happened that our paths diverged. I am sure now that I do not have the same feelings for you as I had before, I already have a sisterly love for you, but I still consider you to be a dear person. You have Nayeon who is good for you, and she will always be there for you. I am ready to talk to you anytime or even meet you if you need to, but the time of our love has passed, no matter how sad it may sound. Think of us only with warmth." Chaeyoung wiped the tears off Mina's face and kissed her on the cheek. The taxi pulled up and Chaeyoungie helped Mina get in the car. All the way, Chaeyoung held Mina close to her because she still looked upset, and to cheer her up, Chaeyoung began to remember the funny stories that had happened to them while they were at school. 

When the taxi stopped at Mina's house, she realized that she would probably have to say goodbye to Chaeyong now, and tears came back before her eyes. Chaeyoung asked the driver to wait while the girls were saying goodbye. "Please stop crying, or I'll cry now, too! Minari, life goes on, no one died. Breaking up is always hard, especially as it was with us, but we have people we love next door. So now come home and hug your girlfriend," Chaeyoung said, clutching Mina's goodbye. "I love you anyway, even though I said I no longer had feelings for you, but I haven't loved anyone as much as I loved you," Mina freed herself from Chaeyoung's arms and hid behind the fence of her house. 

Mina flew into the house and ran away to her room. Nayeon, who was sitting in the living room, only heard the front door slam shut. "Mina, are you back?" Nayeon asked and went into the hall, but no one answered. She went up to the second floor, where Mina's room was. Mina couldn't even lock herself in so that no one would bother her, because that's what her father wanted. Nayeon carefully knocked on the door, but Mina didn't answer. When the loud sobbing started coming out of the room, Nayeon did not wait for permission to come in and opened the door. "Mina, are you here?" Nayeon asked, but there was no answer. Nayeon started walking around the room, guessing about where Mina could hide in her room. When Nayeon heard another sigh, she realized that it was coming from the closet. The large closet door was wide open and Mina sat between the closet and the window, covered with this door and the curtain. She sat on the floor, wrapping her two hands around her legs and stuck her face in her knees. "Mina, what happened?" Nayeon sat next to a crying girl. Mina answered nothing and continued crying. "Okay, I'll sit next to you until you calm down," Nayeon leaned against the wall and started waiting for Mina to be ready to talk. They sat on the floor for thirty minutes, Mina had already stopped crying, but kept silent, hiding her face from Nayeon. 

"Can't we talk?" Nayeon tried to ask. "I don't want to see anybody now, I shouldn't have met Chaeyoung, it's only got worse," whispered Mina. Mina's voice was always quiet, but now Nayeon had to move towards Mina to hear what she was saying. "I ruined it again, why did I start kissing her? I knew it wouldn't do any good, I just shackled up the old wounds. It's all my fault, as always," Mina started hitting herself in the face, punishing herself for what she'd done. "Stop it, it's not your fault!", Nayeon grabbed Mina's hands so she couldn't hurt herself, "You can't blame yourself for everything. It's not your fault that you kissed Chaeyoung, it`s already happened!". "She told me to move on, not live in the past, that she no longer has feelings for me. She has a friendly love to me," Mina snapped. Nayeon kept holding Mina, trying to calm her down: "You can't make her love you again. No one forbids you to think about this period in your life, but she is right to move on, to get new emotions, to find someone who will always be there for you," Nayeon freed Mina's arms and already wanted to hug her, but Mina began to fight back from Nayeon. With every word Mina said, she became more aggressive: "Yes, that's what Chaeyoung said to move on, and she also told me to hug you, because she thinks you are my girlfriend. I even got you involved, even though you're not my girlfriend and we can never be together," Mina punched herself in the face, head, and body again. "Stop it, or I'll tie you to the bed now!" Nayeon pressed Mina to herself. Mina stuck herself in Nayeon's shoulder and cried again, "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. Don't push away those who want to be near you!".

Mina was almost relaxed, but Nayeon reminded her that on Saturday they were going to meet Mina's mother, who wrote that she was waiting for them. "I don't want to go anywhere tomorrow, I don't want to see anyone at all," Mina said, wiping the remaining tears. "But it's your mother, you haven't seen her in a long time, don't you want to meet her?" Nayeon was surprised. "You're the one who suggested it, you wanted it. I wasn't even sure I wanted to go out with a woman I don't even remember," Mina went on to scream. "Now it's my fault that I suggested you find someone better than your father," Nayeon couldn't stay calm after Mina's words. "If I'm not sure of something, maybe I don't need it. Maybe I'm used to living this life. And you're trying to get me out of my comfort zone! Don't get involved in other people's relationships, solve the problem with your friend with whom you fought because she's jealous!" Mina replied. "I'll deal with my friend myself. I didn't ask you to tell me about your life and your relationships at all. I asked you, and you may not have told me, but you told me everything, nobody pulled your tongue. And I didn't tell you anything bad except a fight with my friend. It's my fault that something happened between you and Chaeyoung, that you didn't come back on your own?". Nayeon kept herself in hands so that she wouldn't have to shout and hurt Mina after what they said to each other. "You didn't even react when I introduced you as my girlfriend, you only asked why I did it, that's all. You weren't jealous of Chayeyoung and let me go to meet her quietly. It's all a game to you, now you're kissing me, having fun with me, but then you'll leave when your work is done and I'll be here alone," Mina finally got up from the floor and sat down on the bed. "Mina, what are you saying? What's the game? I don't understand what's going on between us. How we came to this! It's not a game to me, and you said we couldn't be together. I don't think you know what you want anymore! Take care of yourself first, don't make everyone else feel guilty!" Nayeon turned to the window to calm down a bit. "What are you doing in my room then?" Mina said when she got out of bed, "You're my handmaid, so come when I call you and don't break into my room without permission!" Mina pushed Nayeon to leave, but Nayeon resisted and did not want to leave Mina like that. "Go away, I command you!" Mina pushed Nayeon even harder. "Get out of my room, I don't want to see you. Get out!". Mina grabbed Nayeon's hand and threw her out the door. 

Nayeon was confused about what just happened. She only wanted to ask Mina how was her day went and why she was in tears, but it all turned into a big fight, the reason for which Nayeon did not understand. Why did Mina think Nayeon wasn't serious about her and why did Mina think it was a game for Nayeon? The girl returned to her room devastated, trying to figure out what happened between her and Mina. Suddenly, Jeongyeon made a call. "Onnie, I'm sorry about that conversation. I don't know what came over me," Jeongyeon immediately took the initiative into her own hands. "Jeongyeon, I'm so glad you called," Nayeon could barely contain her tears. "Nayeon, what's wrong? Why are you so gloomy?" Jeongyeon asked. Nayeon told her friend everything that happened, and Jeongyeon advised Nayeon to let Mina come to her senses and be alone with herself. "But we wanted to meet Mina's mother, she said she had some important information for us! And Mina said she didn't want to go anywhere," Nayeon said. "Then meet her yourself and find out what she wanted to talk about and what valuable information she has," Jeongyeon suggested. "I think it's none of my business, maybe Mina is right and I take a lot on my own, but I'm just her maid," Nayeon answered. "Onnie, if there's really something important, you won't know until you meet Mina's mother. Just don't talk about it to Mina yet, that's all," Jeongyeon calmed down. "Just do it! I believe in you!" 

Mina was aware that she had been very rude to Nayeon, and everything she had said to her was told by Mina emotionally, but at that moment she had no control over herself. She lay down on the bed, covered herself with a blanket and tried to sleep, but all the attempts were unsuccessful. She decided to play games on the console that would help her distract herself from bad thoughts. Mina played until four in the morning and fell asleep with the joystick in her hands. 


	14. Operation "Save Mina"

Mina came down to the dining room for breakfast, but there was no one else in the room. As soon as Mina sat down at the table, miss Yoshida came to her and told that the food would be brought to her soon. "Miss Yoshida, where are my father and Nayeon?" Mina asked. Today she was in a good mood, even though she knew that yesterday she had behaved like a bitch to Nayeon, who had done nothing wrong to her, so she wanted to apologize for her behavior as soon as possible. "Your father had already left for work and Nayeon had recently left by asking Myoui-san," the woman replied. During breakfast, Mina tried again and again to call Nayeon, but she did not answer. After ten unsuccessful attempts, Mina accepted that Nayeon might not want to talk to her because of Mina's behavior. Mina began to realize how lonely she was without Nayeon and how much she missed her because Mina had become very attached to her since Nayeon lived in the Myoui family house. To have fun and think about what had happened, she decided to go to a riding class, especially since the last time she practiced was when Mina made a surprise for Nayeon. 

When Nayeon arrived at Mina's mother's house, she got out of the taxi and looked around several times to see if anyone had been following her. Satoko lived in a three-storey house that had long required renovation. There were some small apartments, one of which was owned by miss Myoui. The woman opened the door and smiled when she saw Nayeon, but immediately the smile disappeared when Nayeon said that Mina could not come. "Mina isn't feeling well, maybe she was poisoned by something," Nayeon told. "It's a pity I wanted to see her so badly," it was obvious that the woman was upset that her daughter had not come to the meeting, "Come and sit on the sofa. Satoko's apartment consisted of one large room, which was divided by a partition separating the room and the kitchen from each other. A woman sat in a chair next to the sofa on which Nayeon was sitting, holding a large stack of papers. "Miss Myoui, I can't stay here long because I asked for a couple of hours, I have to be near Mina all the time," Nayeong warned. "Don't worry, our conversation won't take long. But first, tell me how Mina is doing, what's new with her," the woman asked. "I don't even know where to start," Nayeon said, but she was able to get together and tell the woman what had happened to her daughter while Nayeon was with Mina, about her father's beating and everything that Mina had in her life before she met Nayeon. "I'm not surprised that Ichiro behaves like that, he beat me repeatedly and now he beats Mina. What hurts most in my heart is that I can't do anything. He beats and humiliates my girl, and I sit here and can't even get close to his house," said Satoko, wiping the rolling tears. "Miss Myoui, I'm always with Mina. I'm trying to protect her from her father's aggression, I'm doing my best!", Nayeon replied. Despite what happened yesterday, it seemed like Nayeon wasn't holding a grudge against Mina. "I can show you pictures of Mina, I took them recently," Nayeon suggested. When the woman saw the pictures of her daughter, she couldn't contain her emotions any longer: "My Mina has grown up so much, she has become so beautiful". 

"Miss Myoui, let's get down to business. You said you had important information that you wanted to share," reminded Nayeon. A woman put a thick stack of papers on the table and said, "These papers will help Mina get rid of her father!". Nayeon scowled her eyebrows, not knowing what the woman meant. "Let me explain everything. When Ichiro started his first business, he set up a company that would work with different universities and help students from all over the world. He has a friendship with many university rectors who are mired in corruption. But the idea of helping students is just a cover, in fact, under the guise of a student company they buy drugs, weapons, and other goods, and then sell for huge amounts of money to various people, including military leaders, politicians, and businessmen. When Ichiro's first company started to make a profit, he set up several other such companies. But the worst part wasn't that. To avoid any suspicions, he registered all the companies for Mina, when she was a minor, no one would think that the little girl owns a smuggling company," said Satoko. "And if suspicions do arise, when Mina becomes an adult, it's not Myoui-san who will go to prison, but Mina," Nayeon thought. "Yes, that's right! You see, he's even willing to sacrifice his daughter just to avoid going to jail himself! I have all the proofs of his financial fraud!", the woman explained. "But how can you prove that Mina had nothing to do with it?" asked Nayeon. "I have a lawyer who has also prepared papers to prove that Mina has nothing to do with her father's affairs. Also, there are a lot of illegal money transaction sheets with Ichiro's name on them, and most importantly, they contain the names of all his friends and their crimes: drug trafficking, murder, rape of minors, pimping. And my ex-husband was also involved in all this. If we start making all this public, it's not Mina who goes to jail, but Ichiro and his friends," Satoko replied proudly. 

"Why did you decide to fight your ex-husband right now? If you had these documents, why didn't you do anything before, you have a lawyer, right?" Nayeon asked. "Because no one would believe me. Even my lawyer helps me for free, and we just don't stand a chance against Ichiro and his money! But now there's you and Mina. Through Mina, you can make these crimes public. No one will pay attention to me or you, but the internet and the social media will talk immediately about Mina, the daughter of a businessman who is among Japan's top ten richest people," explained the woman. "This is all interesting, but how do we do this? Aren't you afraid of framing Mina if things don't go according to the plan?", Nayeon was skeptical about the woman's story. "If we succeed in putting Ichiro in jail, the documents say all the property will go to Mina and she will give up all the luxury that she doesn't like. She will leave this unfortunate house, and Mina and I will be able to go to Korea where my parent live, and we will start a new life," the woman shared her plans. "It all sounds great, but will Mina want to be a part of all this? She doesn't know you, you've already made such plans, but you haven't asked her if she's ready to do all this. Too much information is spilling over into me now. I need to think about it. I have to go, I'll write to you when Mina is ready to listen to you," Nayeon got up from the sofa and headed for the door, but the woman stopped her. "Take the documents with you in case something happens to me," the woman stretched out the papers and Nayeon quickly hid them in her backpack. "I wish Mina had a good life too, but Mina can be very emotional sometimes, and she has to be prepared for that. You can't put so much information on her right now. Let's do it gradually!" Nayeon suggested. Satoko nodded back and Nayeon hurriedly left the apartment. 

As soon as Nayeon walked into the house, Mina rushed towards her like a bored dog. "Nayeon, I owe you an apology. I'm so ashamed that you had to hear all this. I was so lonely without you, I missed you so much!" Mina spoke so quickly as if she was afraid of losing Nayeon again. "Mina, calm down, it's OK. I'm not mad at you, I just had to buy something from the store, so I left so quickly without telling you," she calmed down. "I ordered us a pizza, so we can watch a movie on the big screen in the living room," Mina suggested. "It's a great idea. I'll go into my room and come right down," Nayeon said. "Wait. There's something else I wanted to tell you! I thought long and realized that I want you to be there for me no matter what happens! I want you to be my girlfriend!" Mina confessed by taking Nayeon's hand. "Are you sure about that?" Nayeon asked me again. "Aren't you?" Mina frowned her eyebrows and was afraid that Nayeon would say no, but she hugged Mina and kissed her on the lips. "I agree, but let me go up to my room," broad smile appeared on Mina`s face and she let Nayeon go. 

Nayeon came down into the living room in a panic, "Mina, have you seen my stuff? All my things are gone!". "What do you mean they've disappeared? I have no idea what happened because I recently came home from class!" Mina couldn't understand what was going on, so she called miss Yoshida. The woman appeared before Mina with an arrogant face. "Miss Yoshida, did you see where all Nayeon's things went?" Mina asked, trying to stay calm. "I got a call from Myoui-san and ordered that all Nayeon's belongings should be packed and put out the door because he no longer needs her service. He also asked me to help Nayeon leave the house and the driver would take her to the airport, so if she resisted, security could force Nayeon out," the housekeeper explained. "Mina, I don't understand what's going on! What does all this mean?" Nayeon grabbed Mina's hand, being afraid she would be separated from Mina. "I'm going to call my father and find out," Mina held Nayeon's hand tightly and simultaneously dialed the phone number. "Don't call anyone," Myoui-san walked into the living room like a ghost, "Miss Yoshida explained everything very clearly. Nayeon is leaving us because you don't need her here anymore!". The man waved his fingers and two men came after him and came up to Nayeon and grabbed her. Mina tried to free Nayeon from the men's hands, but one of them gently pushed Mina away. "Dad, what are you doing? Tell them to let Nayeon go!" Mina got nervous again. "Your handmaid, or who she is to you, probably didn't tell you where she went today? She saw your mother. I don't know what they talked about yet, but I'll find out for sure," Ichiro said. Mina didn't answer anything after what she heard. "Mina, I'll explain everything to you later," Nayeon said, and the men took Nayeon outside, put her in the car with her suitcase, and the car moved towards the airport. 

"Are you deciding everything for me again? Do you want to repeat the story with Chaeyoung? That time was I stupid and there was nothing I could do. If you don't bring Nayeon back, I'll run away from home or kill myself!" Mina looked so serious at her father for the first time, not a vulnerable girl who was afraid of him. 


	15. Gone Girl

It's been a few days since Nayeon left Myoui's house. Mina hasn't left an attempt to reach Nayeon, but the girl's phone was out of service. Mina had the darkest thoughts in her head. She even started to think whether Nayeon was alive or not because her father was capable of many things. Every time Mina tried to talk to the driver or miss Yoshida about whether they knew where Nayeon was now, they said they didn't know anything. 

It's been another ten days since Nayeon is no longer near Mina. She was tired of being in the dark, so she asked the driver to take her to a computer club at the mall. Myoui-san restricted Mina's access to the Internet and always controlled the websites that his daughter visited, so she decided to try to find Nayeon on someone else's computer on social networks. She wrote several messages, but there was no reply from Nayeon, the last time the information and photos were updated was two months ago. All of this made Mina even more worried because Nayeon didn`t answer either, and she wasn't active on social sites, as if she didn't even exist. Mina tried to get in touch with Jeongyeon knowing how tight Nayeon was with her friend. Mina searched for Jeongyeon in Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, she wrote the same messages everywhere, and only in Twitter a girl who looked like Jeongyeon responded. 

**Jeon_2yeon** : Mina, is that you? Mina that Nayeon works for?  
 **PengMina** : I'm so glad you answered me! Can you please tell me if Nayeon has returned to Korea?  
 **Jeon_2yeon** : Was she supposed to come back? She didn't tell me anything, but if she had come, she would have contacted me immediately. What's going on there?

Mina had to tell everything how her father literally kicked Nayeon out of the house, and now Mina doesn't know if the girl is safe at all. 

**Jeon_2yeon** : I warned her that it was dangerous to continue working with your family, but she wouldn't listen to me. I don't even know what to do. Did she meet your mom?  
 **PengMina** : My father told me about it, he somehow found out that Nayeon went to see her. What could they say that dad was so angry about? Stop! You're the one who helped Nayeon find mom's number. Didn't you keep it?  
 **Jeon_2yeon** : You're lucky I didn't have time to delete it. Call her right now!

Mina spastically dialed the number and after a few beeps, the woman answered her. Mina could not say a word because she was confused when she heard her mother's voice. When the woman asked who was calling, Mina finally introduced herself and asked if the woman knew where Nayeon was. But what Mina heard shocked her. "I don't know you, and I don't understand what Nayeon is talking about. You probably dialed the wrong number," the woman answered and interrupted the call. Mina carefully checked the number Jeongyeon sent her, but she couldn't understand why the woman said it was the wrong number if that was the number Nayeon was dialing when she called her mother. 

**PengMina** : Jeongyeon, did you write the number correctly?   
**Jeon_2yeon** : Yes, what's wrong?  
 **PengMina** : I just called, a woman answered me, but she said that I have the wrong number, she hears my name for the first time, and she doesn't know about any Nayeon. I don't understand anymore, what's going on? Nayeon called this number. I already feel like the heroine of some thriller!   
**Jeon_2yeon** : Damn! This number was our last chance! Let's do this: I'll try to get something through my dad, and you try to calm down. Save my phone number and text me in a few days. Yeah, and delete our messages, in case your dad's tracking who you're texting.   
**PengMina** : Thank you! See you later! 

After talking to Jeongyeon, Mina had the hope that everything was not lost yet and that there was a chance to find Nayeon. In a good mood, she returned home, which embarrassed miss Yoshida, who didn't realize what could be so cheerful for Mina, considering that she had been walking around with a sour face for couple weeks before because of what had happened to Nayeon. "Where were you, that you came back so happy?" the woman asked. "Why should I tell you something?", Mina replied harshly, "All these years you've been helping my father humiliate me, you've treated me like a thing, not a person. And you wonder why I don't tell you anything or treat you rudely". Mina called her pets, went into the dining room with them and asked the chief to bring dinner to her room. She ran into her father near her room but decided to pretend she couldn't see him. "Are you not talking to me now?", the man asked. "In case you haven't noticed, I haven't talked to you in two weeks. I haven't forgiven you for what you did to me and Chaeyoung, and I won't forgive this situation with Nayeon now. Where is she? Did she get home safely? Why is her phone out of service?". After all, this happened, Mina got up the courage to act harder in front of her father without fear that he might do something to her. "I have no idea where your ex-servant is! I ordered her to be taken to the airport, the driver said she got on a plane. Maybe the plane didn't go to Korea," explained Myoui-san. "You don't want to know what I'll do if I find out something happened to Nayeon," Mina said in an icy voice. "Are you threatening me? Are you strong enough?", the man laughed. Mina answered nothing and went into the room with her dogs. Myoui-san kept it shut and broke into Mina's room: "Do you think you're going to lie quietly on your bed today and watch your stupid movies? No! You will have dinner now, and we're gonna go to a meeting with my business partners, where I'll make a big deal, and your presence is mandatory!". Mina made a loud and heavy sigh, she wanted to snap again, but then she realized that by going with her father, she could take her mind off of Nayeon. 

When Mina and her father arrived at the meeting place, she was immediately alerted by the room where the meeting was to take place. First, they went to an ordinary restaurant, where they were met by one of her father's acquaintances, and through the service entrance, he walked them to the tunnel. Passing through a long dark corridor, they went down by elevator to the -2 floor. Mina could not understand what was so conspicuous and what was wrong with the place they had come to since they had to go underground to get there. When they got out of the elevator, they found themselves in a large illuminated hall, where there were a lot of men who sat divided into their companies and talked about something. Next to them, women were sitting with minimum clothing on. "Have we come to a brothel?" Mina asked. "Why a brothel? Here men like to rest after a hard day's work," the man explained. "Why did you bring me to this nasty place?" Mina was outraged. "I said you had to be here, that's all! By the way, your fiancé and his father are here too, so you can go and talk to him, or you can sit down somewhere and order yourself a drink," Ichiro suggested and approached the men he was going to make a deal with. Mina sat down at the bar and ordered herself a Coke. Looking around, Mina noticed that the room was mostly occupied by men over forty years old, very young girls sitting next to them, behind their tight smiles hiding real pain. Some men took the girls to an unknown destination and after fifteen to twenty minutes they returned in a good mood. 

"Are you Myoui Mina?" the barman asked. "Yes, why?" Mina was surprised. "Some girl asked about you, she said she was waiting for you in room 40," said the young man. Mina thought about Nayeon right away, but then she realized it wasn't Nayeon because she just couldn't know about this place. Mina was bored, so she decided to go up to the room where someone would be waiting for her. The room reminded her of all those hotel apartments with a bed, a bathroom, and other utilities. It was in this kind of room that the young girls favored these rich old men. Mina went into the bathroom to see if there was anyone in it, but it was empty too. The door slammed loudly and Mina was happy that it was Nayeon, but when she came out of the bathroom, a smile disappeared from her face because there was a man in front of her who was fifty years old and smiled frighteningly. "I'm sorry, but there's a mistake!" Mina said shyly. "Your father said you were here!" The man answered. Mina understood that her father disrespected her, but she didn't expect him to let an unknown man approach her on the pretext that a girl was waiting for her, knowing how Mina missed Nayeon. "I don't know what my father promised you, but I'm out of here now," Mina warned. A man blocked her way and pushed her onto the bed. Mina tried to get up quickly, but the man pushed her again and began to break her hands. "Let me go, I'll tell my father everything!" Mina tried to talk. "I paid him a huge sum, so your complaints will be in vain!" said the man and laid down with all his weight on Mina. The man grabbed both of Mina's hands by the wrists and held them under Mina's head, and it was unbearable pain for her to lie in that position. While he held Mina's hands with one hand, the man's second hand tried to rip Mina`s underwear. At first, Mina resisted, but her strength quickly dried up and she started crying and calling for help. 

Someone broke into the room, and the man became scared and immediately got off Mina. Mina covered her face with her hands and cried without getting out of bed. From the corridor, she could barely hear the man talking to someone, according to the voice, to the girl. "Mina, get up!" said the girl who sat next to Mina on the bed. Mina immediately obeyed, but she could not see anything because her eyes were filled with tears. When Mina wiped her tears, she immediately rushed into the girl's arms. "Nayeon! What are you doing here? Why do you look like all these girls? Where have you been all this time?" Mina hugged Nayeon so hard that Nayeoni could hardly breathe. "I can't tell you anything now. I have to leave, but you'll find out everything soon," explained Nayeon by patting Mina's head. "No, I won't let you go again! I can't live in peace without knowing what's wrong with you," Mina grabbed Nayeon even harder when she tried to get rid of Mina. "Mina, let me go! I have to leave before I'm noticed, I promise we'll meet soon and be together!", Nayeon kissed Mina on the cheek and then on the lips, "I promise you!". Mina let Nayeon go, and before Nayeon left the room, she asked Mina to come back to her father in a couple of minutes so that there would be no suspicion. "Nayeoni, I miss you so much!" confessed Mina and gave Nayeon a goodbye kiss. 


	16. Videotape

In the middle of the night, some movement on the bed woke Mina up. She saw a silhouette of a girl in front of her half asleep, but in the dark, she could not understand who it was. "Nayeon, is that you?" Mina asked in a husky voice. The girl put her index finger on Mina's lips to silence her. Mina could feel the touch of her lips, which she immediately recognized. They were Nayeon's lips. "What are you doing here? How did you get into the house?" Mina asked, but Nayeon didn't answer the questions. She continued kissing Mina on the lips and neck, and Minari's body got goosebumps. "Nayeon, I love you," Mina whispered. The girl also did not respond to this confession, she slowly put her hand under Mina's shirt and started stroking her left breast first and then her right. Mina moaned but immediately closed her mouth with her hand so that no one could hear her. She distracted Nayeon by holding Nayeon's head with two hands and asked her to look at Mina: "I give you permission to do whatever you want with me!". Mina let the girl go and leaned back on her pillow. 

Nayeon slowly unbuttoned Mina's shirt, and even though it was dark in the room, Nayeon was able to see Mina's perfect body, on which chills of excitement ran, and a large drop of sweat floated smoothly all over her body from neck to stomach. She froze for a few seconds over Mina, who was lying humbly. Nayeon began to kiss her neck passionately, on the left and the right, doing so hard that there were traces on Mina's neck. After the neck, Nayeon began to go down slowly to Mina's chest. 

Minari tried not to show that she was shivering, and to calm down somehow, she clutched the sheet with her two hands. Nayeon kissed Mina's nipples, playing with her tongue with them. Mina released one hand and covered her mouth again to prevent her from making any sounds of pleasure. Nayeon felt that Mina's body had become as cold as a stone, so she decided to stop and for the first time to say: "Are you feeling well? Why are you so cold?". "I feel fine. I know what you're going to do next, I want to tell you right away that I haven't had anything like this with anyone, I'm very glad that my first time will be with you," Mina kissed Nayeon, but quickly interrupted the kiss, waiting for her girlfriend's further action. 

Nayeon grinned loudly and started taking off Mina's pants, which were part of her pajamas. She sat between Mina's legs and slowly pushed her hand into her pants. Before Nayeon could do anything, Mina twitched and asked her to stop. "No, wait, I'm scared!" Mina said. "If you don't want to do that, I won't do anything," Nayeon suggested. Mina stared at the ceiling, thinking about something. "No, I want you to do it! I'm sure" Minari said. Without answering anything, Nayeon's hand dived into Mina's pants again. While Nayeon played with the girl's clit with her fingers, she reached out to Mina and started kissing her, but Mina's mind became confused and she couldn't concentrate on those kisses. Then Nayeon sat down again between Mina's legs and accelerated the work of her fingers, Mina grabbed the sheet again and could no longer control her sighs. She made a loud long groan when she felt something had penetrated her and began to move back and forth. She always felt that the first time was very painful, but Nayeon made sure that Mina felt nothing but the pleasure that she had never felt before. Several times Nayeon's fingers entered Mina and each time she penetrated, Mina flinched and bent. When Mina came, she slowly unclenched her fingers those wrinkled the sheet, grabbed Nayeon's face with her hands and gave her short kisses, thereby expressing her gratitude to the girl for the pleasure Mina had enjoyed. But Mina could not understand why Nayeon began licking Mina's lips and nose, and this continued for five seconds. Mina closed her eyes and started waving her head from side to side to stop such caresses, but when Mina opened her eyes she saw one of her dogs licking her face with its warm, soft tongue. Mina sat down sharply and looked at her watch. The time was ten o'clock in the morning, and the bright sun shone in the room. "Shit! It was a dream!" Mina thought sadly and felt wet in her underpants. Mina made a heavy sigh and plunged back into the bed. 

"Here's the heroine of last night!" Myoui-san said scornfully when Mina walked into the living room and saw her father and her fiance's family. "What's going on here?" Mina asked. "In case you haven't forgotten, you are about to marry Yoshi, so his parents came to us today to discuss the details of the celebration. The wedding will take place in a month in Tokyo," Ichiro explained. "While we're talking, go to breakfast and come back to us!". Mina went to the dining room, where a table had already been set up for her. During breakfast, she tried to remember what happened yesterday. She slept so hard that all her memories were erased from her memory. The fragments from last night began to return to Mina's mind and she remembered that after Nayeon left the room, Mina had returned to her father's company. He was aware of what had happened between her and his friend, who had paid Ichiro for Mina. Myoui-san was not shy about speaking to Mina and once again slapped Mina for her behavior. At that moment, everyone was silent and looked at the family's fight, but Ichiro immediately shouted out to the whole room that there was nothing wrong with what was happening, that the public could distract themselves from their favorite activities, and the men returned to their companies. Mina went to the bar, asked for a glass of water and started looking around, hoping to see Nayeon, but she was nowhere to be found. The time was already far past midnight and sleepy Mina went to her father and asked him to let her go home, the man immediately agreed and ordered the driver to take Mina home. Mina was so impressed by what happened yesterday in that brothel that she had such a passionate dream with Nayeon.

Mina returned to the living room, where guests enthusiastically discussed the future wedding of Mina and Yoshi. She sat down on the sofa next to her father but did not get into the adults' conversations. Mina's thoughts were only about where Nayeon was now and when they could meet. "Minari, when are you going to try on your dress?", the groom's mother asked. Mina did not answer the question because in her mind she was outside this living room. "Mina, can you hear us?" Myoui-san asked. "Excuse me?", the girl woke up. "I asked when we could go to the dress fitting," the woman asked me again. "Why do I need a dress? This wedding is another one of my father's deals. Why we should spend money on a dress and a celebration," Mina got up from the sofa and went to her room. As she left the living room, she heard her father apologizing to the guests for his daughter's words. 

Mina flinched when her phone rang. She grabbed the phone and saw an unknown number on the screen. "Nayeon, you finally called," Mina answered with great joy. "Miss Myoui, can you speak now?", a strange woman answered. "Who are you? What do you want from me?", Mina was surprised. "I'm calling from NHK TV, and we want to do a story about your family. Yesterday we received a video of your father hitting you in the face. This video is already online, and you understand that Myoui-san is one of the famous people in Japan, so the resonance from this video will be huge, your father will have problems. We would like you to appear on one of our shows and clarify the situation," explained the woman. "I don't know anything about this! Nobody hit me! Don't call me again!" Mina answered and interrupted the call. Mina was confused because she did not want her family's problems to become public knowledge. 

Mina logged on to Youtube and entered keywords that might be related to her name, and the first video that came up was a hidden camera shoot from a brothel where Mina's father slaps her in the face and his friends laugh loudly as they watch this family drama. The video has already had 5 million views and countless negative comments from users who condemned Myoui-san's actions. Mina closed her laptop and went to bed, thinking about who could have posted the video and what would happen to her family now. 

"MINA, WHAT'S THIS?" Ichiro broke into Mina's room, "Why is everyone watching this video on the internet?". "I swear, I don't know who made this video and posted it on the internet. I just got a call from the TV to tell me about the video, and they want to make a story about it," Mina said. "I forbid you to talk to the media, I'll settle everything, but I warn you, if I find out that you've told them something, I'll kill you," warned the man and left the room. For a moment Mina was glad that everyone had found out what her father was like, but she remembered that her father had enough money to make everyone forgetting about the video. 


	17. Problem solved

As Mina supposed, the video from the brothel disappeared without a trace. For several days Mina was afraid to leave the house and her phone received calls and messages from unknown numbers inviting her to give an interview and tell about her family, even though her father had already sorted out the video. When her father learned of such activity on Mina's phone, the man took her laptop and phone so that she could not contact anyone. 

Mina remembered she promised to write to Jeongyeon if the situation with Nayeon gets clear. Five days after that videotape story, Mina decided to leave home and go to the computer club where she could use a computer to write Jeongyeon. When Mina arrived at the mall, she began to catch the slanting glances of the people who saw the video with her. Minari tried to ignore the people and sat down at the furthest computer so that no one could see her. She wrote a long letter to Jeongyeon, in which she told her everything that happened and under what circumstances she met Nayeon. There was no response from Jeongyeon, so she was probably offline. "Are you Myoui Mina?", Mina was approached by a girl with a voice recorder in her hand, "I would like to interview you." Mina quickly got up from the table and moved quickly to the exit, but the girl rushed after Mina, asking questions about life with her father. "I don't know who posted that video! Leave me alone!" Mina asked. "You're afraid of your father and that's why you don't want to say anything?", the girl asked. "I won't say anything! Leave me alone!" Mina answered and hurriedly left the mall. Mina did not know what was worse: one girl who chased her until she left the building or a huge crowd of journalists who surrounded her in the street. Mina tried to get out of the surroundings, but the journalists would not let her do so and kept asking her questions. While in a vicious circle, the girl panicked and fainted.

Mina opened her eyes and didn't recognize the place where she found herself. When she looked around, she realized she was in a hospital room. A warm hand lay on Mina's hand and she saw Nayeon sitting next to the bed. "Why do you only show up when something happens to me? Will you be my guardian angel now?" Mina asked, "What happened to me?". "You fainted. They took you straight to the hospital and you were unconscious for two hours. Why don't you tell the journalists anything? This is your chance to free yourself from your father!" Nayeon said. "I'm afraid of the uncertainty. What happens after I tell everything?" Mina said. "Your father will go to prison and you'll be free, you can go to school! We can be together!", Nayeon took her hand off Mina and stand near the window. "But I won't have any money for housing or education," Mina objected. "So it's important for you to live in wealth? Even though you said that you don't like all that luxury," Nayeon was surprised, she started walking slowly through the room. "What? No! I was born in such a family, I haven't seen another life, I don't know what it's like to earn money, what it's like when you can't afford anything. But it doesn't mean I'm not ready for this life, it doesn't mean I'm not ready to work. I'm really afraid of the unknown," Mina replied, "Nayeon, I don't understand what you want from me, you only disappear and appear at critical moments. Maybe you can help me". "I'm already helping you! You just can't see it! Do you think journalists just showed up in your life?" Nayeon replied. "What?" Mina's eyes rounded, "Did you make the video?". "I can't tell you anything. I hope you'll recover quickly, I have to leave now!" Nayeon took the bag from the chair, but Mina grabbed Nayeon's. "Wait, when will we meet? When will all this be over?" Mina asked, holding Nayeon's hand tightly. "It's up to you how much you want it," Nayeon answered and pulled Mina's hand to let her go. "Again, you're leaving without explaining anything!" Mina said. "I promise you'll find out very soon. Just wait!" Nayeon answered and left the room. 

Miko took Mina home from the hospital the day after the incident at the mall. She didn't leave her room for a few days and ate at least. Myoui-san did not even worry about his daughter, did not ask how she was feeling, he was only pleased that she was sitting in her room and did not go out. On another boring day, Mina woke up from an alarm that went off in the car, but it wasn't the familiar sound she used to hear in the yard of the house. Looking out the window, Mina saw a car that resembled a van in which reporters with reporting equipment usually drive. Next to the car stood her father's guards and made sure that they could not film anything or go near the fence of the house. Mina's phone got another call. "Who's that? I already said I wouldn't say anything!" Mina answered abruptly. "Minari, tell the reporters before it's too late!", Nayeon called Mina from an unknown number. "Nayeon, what is all this about? What are you trying to do? Maybe I don't want to do it." Mina answered uncertainly. "Do you have Stockholm syndrome? Mina, this is your chance to get out of your father's cage! Do you want to stay with someone who humiliated you, beat you, separated you from your ex-girlfriend, kept you from getting an education? You want to spend the rest of your life locked up and not see real life? You keep asking when we'll be together, so this is your chance to end it and we'll be together," Nayeon explained, trying to speak in a calm voice. "Nayeoni, I'm looking out the window right now and another car with journalists arrived. What's going on?" Mina was worried. "The longer you keep quiet, the more journalists will want to report on your family. If you don't say anything within an hour, I'll do it myself! You have 60 minutes!" Nayeon warned me and ended the conversation. 

Mina decided to listen to Nayeon and already wanted to leave the house, as miss Yoshida stopped her: "Where are you going? Myoui-san told not to leave the house while the journalists are outside". "I wanted to go out with the dogs," Mina said. "Don't lie to me! Your dogs are sleeping in the living room. If you leave the house now, I'll report it to your father right away!", miss Yoshida replied in a stern voice. Despite warnings from the woman, Mina opened the door and saw a whole crowd of journalists clinging to the fence when they saw Mina and began taking photographs, blinding the girl with endless flashes. "A few minutes ago, I only saw two cars where so many people came from," Mina asked miss Yoshida. "I don't know what's going on yet. Your father will come and deal with it soon," replied the woman. Mina remembered what happened to her a few days ago when she fainted because of a panic attack, so she decided not to talk to the reporters now and returned to the house. 

Mina kept Nayeon's words in her head that she only had an hour to tell everything, but Mina sat in the living room panicked by the noise created by the journalists on the street. She jumped when her phone rang again. "Nayeon, if it's you, I can't talk to the reporters now, I was panicked by what had already happened to me! I don't want anything yet, if you can stop it, please do it! If you love me, then end it and don't torture me!" Mina was already literally begging Nayeon. "Okay, if you're already asking for it, then I'll do it. But I want to warn you to be ready for anything, so don't ask any questions," Nayeon replied. "Okay, what do you want me to do?" Mina didn't get a chance to talk before the call ended. Myoui-san didn't come back until late at night. He somehow managed to get rid of the people near the house. "Minari, tomorrow the journalists will come to us and we will talk about everything in a calm atmosphere, you will have to sit next to me and confirm every word I say! Do you understand me?", said the man. "I understand," Mina answered dryly. 

The journalist arrived at noon sharp. To Mina's surprise, there was only one nice girl who immediately settled the Myoui family. "Hello, Mina. My name is Rika. Don't be too nervous, we'll just talk, that's all. But remember, we'll be talking live, nothing will be hidden from the audience. Our program will be broadcast throughout Japan," the girl warned. Mina was sitting next to her father all the time and nodded in agreement with his words. "Mina, tell me, how would you describe your life with your father?", the girl asked. Mina looked into the camera and already wanted to tell the truth, but the light above the camera blinded her eyes and she started panicking again. "Mina, are you alright? Say it like it is!", the girl asked. "Dad always took care of me, I can't say anything bad about him!" - that's the only thing Mina could say. "But what can you say about the video that appeared on the internet and then miraculously disappeared?" Rika asked. "Anyone could have faked that video to frame me, you know how many enemies I have," Mina's father said. "Our experts checked the video for authenticity, and we found no trace of it being edited or faked! Are you raising your hand on your daughter?", the journalist objected. "Every parent has raised a hand on his child at least once, there's nothing wrong with that. It's an educational process!", continued to insist Myoui-san.

"Okay! As you wish! But just before coming here, we got another video that we haven't shown anywhere else, so we're going to show it to our viewers live! Mina looked at the TV screen where the video was broadcast, and her eyes were getting big like saucers. In the video, there was Mina in that room where she was almost raped by Ichiro's friend. Someone filmed all their conversation and the moment the man harassed the girl. Mina couldn't look at the scene, so she put her eyes down and took up her head. Myoui-san grabbed the remote and turned off the TV: "I will sue you for slander! Are you saying that I sold my daughter? Whatever on this tape! Maybe Mina herself decided to do the whole thing to set me up!". "Mina, is it true?" the journalist asked Mina. "Frankly speaking, I do not remember this moment at all," - Mina again began to panic, because she realized that again she had lost the opportunity to tell the whole truth, she started crying and asked to leave the frame. 

"We're still on the air, and we still have a topic I'd like to talk about, but we need the help of specialists! Do you mind if we invite them? We asked them to wait outside," said the girl. "What specialists? What kind of clownery have you arranged here? Get all the equipment and get out of my house!" Myoui-san shouted. When someone knocked on the door, Ichiro asked miss Yoshida to open it. She barely opened the door as several uniformed men broke into the house, two of whom grabbed Mina and two others grabbed Ichiro. Another man ordered the housekeeper to lock the dogs in the room so they wouldn't interfere with the process. "What's going on here? Let my daughter go and turn off the cameras!" - Myoui-san ordered. "We'll explain everything to you now," said the man who ordered miss Yoshida to sit in the dogs' room, "We have prepared a special operation to detain you and your daughter! You are charged with running an illegal business that involves drug trafficking, prostitution and other forms of manipulation. Myoui Mina is accused of owning this business and harboring your crimes, and that Myoui-san repeatedly raised his hand against his daughter!". "This is not even my business! It's my daughter's business, so all charges should be against her!" Myoui-san tried to get out of the hands of men. "I don't understand anything! I don't understand, how could my father's business be written on me?" - Mina didn't even try to get out. "The papers miss Myoui Satoko gave us have Mina's name on them," explained the man in uniform. "Where did you get these papers and these videos?" Ichiro asked. Nayeon entered the house and immediately said hello to the man and the journalist. The cameraman immediately pointed a camera at her and the girl started asking Nayeon questions. 

"Nayeon, explain to me what's going on?" asked Mina, "You said I could be free and we'd be together!". "I kept my word, now you'll be free," Nayeon replied. "We'll have a long trial, interviewing witnesses, including Nayeon, and then the case will be brought before the court, where you will be charged," said the man. "Nayeon, stop them!" Mina started shouting when she was taken out of the house. Nayeon ran up to Mina and asked to let her say a few words to the girl: "I'll come to you tomorrow!". "I hate you! You didn't save me, you ruined my whole life!" Mina answered in hysterics and headed for the police car. 


	18. Nayeon's plan

Nayeon was already waiting for Mina in the meeting room at the police station where she was brought to start a criminal case against Mina and her father. When Mina walked into the room and saw Nayeon, she immediately asked the policeman to take her back to the cell where she had spent the night because she did not want to talk to Nayeon, but the policeman forced her to sit down at the table and uncuffed Mina. He left the girls alone and closed the door behind him. "How did you sleep?" Nayeon asked. Mina put her eyes down and crossed her arms on her chest. "Are you still asking how I slept after what happened yesterday? I don't want to see you at all," Mina answered in a calm voice. Nayeon approached Mina, but she kept ignoring her. Then Nayeon sat on Mina's legs so she couldn't take her eyes away from Nayeon. "Get off me!" Mina screamed, but Nayeon didn't move. "I love you, so I'm worried about you," Nayeon tried to kiss Mina, but she refused. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have done this to me," when Mina said that, Nayeon got up from the girl's knees and went back to her chair, which was opposite Mina. "I told you to be ready for anything. I couldn't tell you anything, because everything had to look natural. Everything was set up to arrest your father. The whole country found outlive what your father was like," Nayeon explained. "What exactly was set up? Nayeoni, explain everything in order!" Mina asked. 

"Okay. I'll tell you everything, but don't ask or resent anything. When your father ordered me to go to the airport, I managed to persuade Miko to go somewhere else with me. On the way, I explained my plan to him, and he decided to help me implement it. We went to your mother's house, I told her right away what had happened, and she told me to start acting now. When you went to the brothel with your father, Miko told me about Myoui-san's plans, and it turns out that he is reporting everything to his driver. Miko knew in advance that your father had sold you to a friend and in which room it was supposed to happen. With the help of Miko and one of the girls who were in slavery in this brothel, I managed to get into this place under the guise of a prostitute. I went into the room and set up security cameras. You walked so fast down the hall that you didn't even notice me on the stairs as I pretended to be waiting for one of the clients. Then a man came into the room, and I stood by the door, waiting for you to scream. I'd go in right away and get you out of there, but I needed to get everything on camera. Remember you went back to your dad, and he hit you, and the video of that scene went online? I'm the one who taped you. When the men were drunk and there were so many openly dressed girls around them, they didn't even notice me standing there recording your father raising his hand at you. I went back to your mother's house, and we put that video on the Internet together. The next morning I was contacted by people from NHK and I gave them your phone because I expected you to tell them everything, but I didn't think you would be scared and keep quiet. Myoui-san tried to get this video removed from all the resources, and I was afraid that everyone would forget about this story. Miko told me about all your plans, so I contacted the journalists myself and asked them to wait for you at the mall. And you didn't tell them anything again, and then you fainted, too. That's when I started to push you because you didn't dare to reveal the truth. It was your real chance," Nayeon was interrupted by Mina before she finished the sentence, "The journalists at my house it was made by you?" 

"I told you not to ask me anything. I only told them the address of the house, I didn't expect they'd start attacking your family. I guess I did start to push you, but I decided not to stop halfway. Miko immediately told me that your father had arranged the meeting with the journalists the next day, so I immediately contacted the channel and told them that I had another video, the one from the room. They were interested in it, and then we decided that first, the girl would interview you and your father, then she would show the video, and then I had to go into the house with the police. You would know what ratings were yesterday, this report showed even on advertising banners in the city center. Because you weren't aware of my plan, you looked very natural and people believed you. "How could people believe me if I was accused of owning my father's business, even though I didn't," Mina was surprised. "Now I'll tell you the second part of my plan, but I'll need the help of one person to do this," Nayeon replied. Mina's mother walked into the room and immediately cried when she saw her daughter. 

"Mum, what are you doing here?" Mina asked. A woman approached Mina and wanted to hug her, but Mina immediately pushed the woman away. "Can you explain to me what kind of play you're doing here? You wanted it to look convincing, but didn't you think something terrible might have happened to me? Nayeon, you can't imagine how scared I was in that room," Mina complained and pointed to the chair Nayeon put next to herself. "I'll explain everything now," began Satoko, "Many years ago, your father was looking for a way to make a lot of money. One of his friends advised him to start a business, you already know which one, but to avoid responsibility, he decided to put the business in your name, on the pretext that when you grow up, all that money will go to you. I talked him out of it, told him not to drag you into it, but he wouldn't listen to me. When you were little, we fought all the time and living with your father became unbearable. I wanted to go with you to my parents' place in Korea, but he wouldn't let you go. He threw me out on the street with one suitcase. Luckily, I managed to steal important papers from his safe to help accuse him of all his terrible deeds. My parents helped me rent an apartment on the outskirts of Kobe because I didn't want to leave Japan, leaving you with that monster. Unexpectedly, I got a call from Nayeon and asked me to meet her, and then I realized this was a real chance to lock up your father and release you. When Ichiro threw Nayeon out, we decided to act, and that's where it all came from! Minari, now you have a chance to be free! I have a lawyer who can prove your innocence in court, so we can go to Korea to live with my parents," the woman concluded. 

Mina put her elbows on the table and took her head: "I don't know what to say. "It all sounds like crazy. I don't know if I want all this. I don't know what I even want right now. I just have an empty head." Nayeon wanted to hold Mina's hand, but the girl immediately rejected Nayeon's gesture. "I want to go home now, go to bed and forget everything that happened! Nayeong, it all started when you came to us, if it wasn't for you, I would be sitting at home right now and wouldn't think about how to avoid the trial and not get punished," Mina said. "So this is all my fault? You're the one who's been telling me how awful your father is about you. Do you think it's normal for a father to sell his daughter to a grown man? Is it okay for him to raise his hand against you repeatedly? Of course, you liked to live like a princess in a huge house with dogs, a winter garden, always set the table, but with this, you cover all the pain that your father has caused you, for all that, you are ready to tolerate his attacks on you, even though you told me yourself that you do not like all this. You said that when we first met, then you confirmed it at the hospital, and now you're backing off? Define what you want! You're not fifteen years old anymore, you're only two years younger than me, it's time to become an adult!" Nayeon said and left the room, leaving Mina alone with her mother. 

"Why are you doing this to Nayeon, she's worried about you! If she hadn't been indifferent to you, she wouldn't have come back for documents and done everything she did for you, she would have gone home to Korea in peace and lived her life," Satoko said. "I vaguely remember you, just some passages from childhood, but let's not give me advice on how to talk to Nayeon now. You probably think that's a noble thing to do too, don't you? You were with her and you didn't tell me anything, you have no idea how worried I was about her, I was beginning to think she was killed and it turned out that she was staying with you the whole time and you developed a brilliant plan to put my father in prison," Mina said rudely. "Nayeon was right, you already have Stockholm syndrome! Well, you know what? We won't convince you to listen to us, we've done everything we could. Your dad should go to jail for what he did. But you have two options: you banish us, and you will pass on this case as an accomplice to your father, or you will trust us, and today you will be released! You can sit and think, and I'll go outside and get some air," the woman wanted to leave the room, but Mina stopped her: "Mom, please call Nayeon." 

When Nayeon returned to the room, Mina was already standing at the table, sitting on his edge for a while. Nayeon wanted to go up to her and kiss her because she missed Mina, but she immediately pushed Nayeon away. "I agree that you can help me, but after that, we'll forget about each other right away," Mina said, Nayeon's eyes rounded, "When this is over, I'll go to Korea with my mother because I have no other choice. I want to start a new life, and there shouldn't be anything there to remind me of the past except my dogs, and you shouldn't be there either!". "Mina, I don't understand, why can't we be together? Your mother knows about our relationship, she approves it, what happened to you? Why do you say that now? Are you trying to get back at me like this?", - tears started to come out in front of Nayeon, and she didn't even try to hide them. "Nayeon, I've made up my mind! We won't be together!" Mina answered resolutely. 


	19. Not my Mina anymore

"Mina, let's talk about this when you calm down. I don't believe you want to break up after all that we've been through together," Nayeon tried to change Mina's mind. "That's what I want, to break up and forget all the bad things we've been through," Mina insisted and knocked on the door to invite her mother. When the woman walked into the room, Nayeon stood aside with her eyes on the floor. "Did something happen between you two?" Satoko remarked. "It doesn't matter. I agree to carry out your plan and testify against my father, but let it all end as soon as possible," Mina said. Miss Myoui gave Mina the signature papers that she had to sign, thereby confirming her consent to appear in court as a prosecutor. "Nayeon, are you and Mina sure everything's okay? You look upset," asked the woman. "If Mina wants to, she'll tell you what happened. When will the trial take place, will I have to testify against Myoui-san?" Nayeon asked. "Next week, thanks to my lawyer, this case will be brought to court quickly. If you want, you can stay in my apartment and I'll stay with Mina at her house and help her with packing the suitcases," Satoko suggested. "It would be perfect because I don't see the point in flying to Korea now and then returning to Japan," Nayeon concluded and took the keys that Mina's mother gave her. 

Mina and mom left in their private car, and Nayeon decided to wait for the bus. As soon as the car went away, Nayeon let her emotions go and cried while sitting at the bus stop, attracting the attention of the people who were passing by. Several people even came up to her and asked if she was okay. But Nayeon quickly calmed down before the bus arrived. To distract herself from the personal drama, she decided to call Jeongyeon by video call, but did not say that Mina had decided to give up with her, but only told Jeon the story of her disappearance and the detention of Mina's father. "Come back home, I miss you so much! I hope you haven't changed your mind about continuing your studies," Jeongyeon asked. "No, of course, what did I work for and put up with all this? As soon as I get home, I'll go straight to the university and find out about my master's degree," said Nayeon optimistically. Talking to her friend helped her forget about Mina and her words for a while. 

She couldn't sleep for a long time, because Mina's voice was sounding in her head, repeating over and over again: "We won't be together!". When another attempt to fall asleep failed, Nayeon grabbed her phone and wrote several messages to Mina.

 **[1:30 Nayeon]** Mina, please, let's talk!  
 **[1:33 Nayeon]** Please answer me!  
 **[1:35 Nayeon]** I can't sleep because of you.   
**[1:40 Mina]** Stop it! I already told you everything this afternoon.   
**[1:41 Nayeon]** You're behaving like a hurt child. You shouldn't be mad at me, you should be mad at your father! I told you that I did everything for you because I love you!  
 **[1:42 Mina]** Why do you need a child, find someone more mature and intelligent than me!  
 **[1:45 Nayeon]** You know what? Go to hell, you and your whole family! I understand that you've suffered a lot from your father, but maybe you've forgotten how your father almost raped me, or how I had to go to his parties with him? I'm already dreaming that the trial would go away and I could go home! 

Nayeon immediately deleted all messages with Mina and blocked her number so she couldn't answer or make a call. Nayeon threw her phone on the floor and tried to sleep.

The week before the trial flew by unnoticed, Nayeon did not leave her apartment and spent the whole day studying the information about the university program, what exams are required for admission. Thinking about her studies helped Nayeon to forget about a break up Mina and her head was full of admissions plans. During this week, she got even closer to Jeongyeon, although Nayeon was already close to her, thanks to the friend, Nayeon began to smile again. 

The day has come when the fate of Mina's father was to be decided. A car came for Nayeon, which took the girl to court. "Satoko and Mina are already waiting for you in court," Miko said. Nayeon didn't answer anything and stumbled through the window. As she approached the courthouse, Nayeon received a text from Jeongyeon who wished her luck. This message involuntarily made Nayeoni smile. Satoko and Mina were standing by the courtroom where the trial was to take place. As soon as the woman saw Nayeon, she immediately smiled and Mina pretended not to notice Nayeon and put her eyes down. "How are you feeling? Are you ready?", the woman asked. "Yes, it's okay, I'm ready," Nayeon replied strongly, trying to avoid looking at Mina. After a while, the Nayeon and the Myoui family were invited to the hall. Mina felt uncomfortable when her father, whose hands were handcuffed, was brought into the hall and several men, who were Myoui-san's business partners, sat next to him. Mina began to breathe heavily and did not know where to put her hands, especially when her father looked at her with a threatening look as if it was her fault that he had been arrested. "Mina, relax, I can see you're nervous! It's okay, don't look at him!", Satoko tried to calm down her daughter. 

When all the formalities were met, Nayeon was invited to testify as a witness. She answered all questions honestly and once again provided videos from the brothel confirming Myoui-san's immoral behavior with his daughter. After Nayeon, Mina was invited to testify and when she heard her name, she flinched. "At least now act like an adult," Nayeon said fondly. She sat down confidently at the table. Nayeon was most worried that Mina wouldn't be able to withstand the tension and would run away from the courtroom. But apparently, she decided to listen to Nayeon's words and give the evidence, on which the fate of her father depended. With a shaking voice, Mina tried to answer all the lawyers' questions honestly, telling them how her father treated her, how often she was beaten and why he had not allowed her to get an education. She tried not to even look in his direction because she already felt his hateful look. When she finished her speech in the courtroom, she quickly ran out of the hall. "I'll go after her," Nayeon told Mina's mother. 

Nayeon knew right away that Mina had run to the ladies' room. When she walked into the room, she saw Mina sitting on the floor in tears. "You did well, I'm proud of you!" Nayeong said, sitting on the floor next to Mina. "I'm still shaking from my testimony. I can't believe I just went against my father," Mina said as she wiped her tears. "You did what you had to do. You did it not just for yourself, but for all those girls who suffered from your father's activities. They'll only be grateful to you for that. I know this is going to be very difficult for you because you're going to have to get used to the life you're used to, but I'm sure you can do it! I believe in you and I want to apologize again for everything you've been through. Now wash up, get cleaned up and go back to the hall and the verdict will be announced soon," Nayeon tried to find the right words so that Mina didn't feel guilty. "Nayeon, stop!" Mina shouted when Nayeon wanted to leave the room, "And I'm sorry for everything! For what I said to you in the police and in the messages we sent each other at night! I admit that I behaved like a child. I don't know if you can forgive me, but I love you! I can't live without you! When you came into my life, you were the only person I opened up to, with whom I was able to get along, whom I loved after Chaeyoung! Please don't leave me!". Nayeon closed the door and walked up to Mina, holding her hands: "I'm sure you can get on with your life, you'll go to Korea where you can go to university, you'll forget everything that happened here in Japan, but I don't think I have a place in your life as you said! I'm ready to be your friend, but I don't think we can build a relationship. We were fine as long as I was your maid and we had something in common, but now, after what happened, I'm not sure I want to continue this relationship!". Nayeon wiped the tears that came out of Mina's eyes with her thumbs. "Please don't cry, you'll find your person, but it's not me," Nayeon said, "Hurry up, they're waiting for us in the hall. Nayeon left Mina. As she walked down the long corridor, she only thought about whether she did the right thing to say to Mina. When she returned to the hall and sat down with Satoko, Nayeon calmed down the woman and told her that Mina would be back soon.

Mina walked into the hall, full of confidence, and there was no trace of her crying on her face. "Is everything all right?" - mom asked. "It's never been better. I hope I didn't miss the verdict," Mina answered calmly. Myoui-san and all his friends with whom he shared business were sentenced to 25 years in prison without appeal. "Mina, we did it!" Satoko exclaimed after the verdict, but Mina had no joy or disappointment on her face and no emotions at all. Nayeon also hugged the woman and congratulated her on the victory. "Welcome to a new life," said Nayeon to Mina, but she did not react to Nayeon's words. "You want to celebrate this victory with us?," Satoko suggested. "No, I want to pack my bags and go to bed early because I have a flight to Seoul very early tomorrow," Nayeon said. "We're going back to Korea tomorrow too, so I guess we'll take the same plane. Then we'll see you tomorrow!" said the woman. Miko drove Nayeon home, warning her that he would pick her up and take her to the airport. 

At 5 a.m., the car was parked outside the house, Miko was going to take Nayeon to the airport with the Myoui family. "Nayeoni, while we're driving, there's something I want to tell you," Satoko began the conversation, "I sold the house that belonged to Ichiro. I let Mina manage the money, and she decided to give you half this huge sum because you have a difficult financial situation and you want to pay for your studies. I didn't object to her, so accept this check from us." Nayeon took the envelope with the check from Satoko's hand and hid it in her bag. "Thank you for this, I can't thank you enough. I'm glad we succeeded and you were able to reunite with your daughter," Nayeon said. "If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened. I will always be grateful to you for that," Satoko replied. 

At Incheon Airport, Jeongyeon was waiting for her friend. When Nayeon showed up with her suitcase, Jeongyeon welcomed her with such a wide smile as if she hadn't seen her friend for ages. Satoko and Mina approached the girls when they saw that Nayeon had met a friend of hers. "If you need help with anything, call anytime, if you're sad or you want to meet, call too," said the woman. "Thank you, good luck to you!" Nayeon answered. Mom and daughter went to look for a taxi, and Nayeon immediately lost them in the crowd. "Is this your Mina?" Jeongyeon asked. "She's not mine anymore," Nayeon replied. "What's wrong?!" Jeongyeon was confused. "Help me with the bags, I'll tell you on the way!" Nayeon took the case, Jeongyeon took the bag, and they went towards the trains. 


	20. Family

"Jeongyeon, can I stay at your place tonight?" Nayeon asked. "No problem, but on the condition that you tell me what happened because this is the first time I've seen you in such a mood that you don't even want to go home," her friend answered. Nayeon nodded to say yes, at which point the train approached the platform.

The Yoo family was very happy to meet the Nayeon. A large table was set up in the living room. "You shouldn't have made so much food for me," Nayeon said to Mrs. Yoo. "Nayeoni, don't worry, you've been part of our family for a long time," the woman replied, "I'm going to an important event with dad now, so you two can eat whatever is on the table, especially since you haven't seen each other for so long, you have something to talk about".

Nayeon quickly changed into home clothes and returned to the living room, where Jeongyeon was already waiting for her at the table. "Are you going to drink anything: wine, whiskey, brandy?", the girl asked. Nayeon pointed to a bottle of wine, so Jeongyeon decided to take care of her friend and poured her a full glass of red semi-sweet. "Tell me, what happened between you and Mina after the trial? I thought you'd be able to keep the relationship," Jeongyeon asked, filling her plate with food that mom had prepared. "I just realized at some point that we are completely different. I realized that it would be very difficult for me to be with her. When I was working at her house, she found someone in me who would protect her and take care of her. I don't want her to always be such a defenseless child. She doesn't want to change. I still sit and think about how she pulled herself together and testified in court against her father," Nayeon said, twisting noodles on sticks. "Maybe this whole situation will change her, now she's free, she'll go to study and smell freedom. Maybe you should have gone back to Korea and continued communication here," Jeongyeon said. "Jeongyeon, I've already decided everything. I'm so tired of their family, I'm just morally devastated. You can't imagine how happy I was to see you at the airport," said Nayeon while finishing the wine. Jeongyeon's eyes were rounded when she saw how quickly Nayeon emptied the glass of wine and filled it with red drink again. "Don't you think you drink very quickly? You're going to get drunk!" her friend warned. Nayeon waved her hand and took another sip. "Are you sure you're all right? It's the first time I've seen you drink alcohol in such amounts. Maybe you shouldn't drink so much and quickly," Jeongyeon was worried. Nayeon got up from the table and sat down on the big soft sofa. She leaned her head against her chest and wrapped her arms around her neck, crying. She already felt dizzy from alcohol intoxication, so she let go of the emotions that had been stuck in her for so long. 

Jeongyeon immediately ran up to her friend and sat on the floor in front of her: "Hey, what's going on with you? Tell me!". Nayeon kept crying, ignoring Jeongyeon, who tried to calm her down. "Hey, I'm here next to you. It's okay. All the bad things are behind you!" Jeongyeon gave a big hug and didn't let Nayeon out of her arms for long. 

"Don't feel sorry for me, the last thing I don't want right now is to feel sorry for me," said Nayeon when she broke out of her friend's arms. She saw Jeongyeon's frightened eyes in front of Nayeone and thought she had done something wrong. "Jeongyeon, you've done so much for me, you always take care of me, you're one of the most precious people," Nayeon said. "Why did you decide to admit it now? You're acting weird, unnie," Jeongyeon said. There was an awkward pause between them, which Jeongyeon treacherously violated: "Nayeon, are you sure you're okay?". She was going to say something else, but Nayeon didn't let her do it because she threw herself at Jeongyeon and kissed her. "Hey, wait, what are you doing?" Jeongyeon gently pushed Nayeoni away, "I know you did it emotionally. You're drunk now and you don't know what you're doing". "You were always there for me, maybe I was stupid and didn't see the right person by my side," Nayeon tried to kiss the girl again, but Jeongyeon quickly got up from her knees and came to the window, turning away from Nayeon. "You said yourself that we are already like sisters, and I accepted that. Especially since I had someone, I didn't tell you about it, but I've been seeing a girl for two months now," Jeongyeon explained. "Why didn't you tell me right away? I look like a complete fool right now," Nayeon said. As for punishment, she started hitting herself on the head until Jeongyeon ran up to her again and calmed her down. "Stop it, it's not your fault! We'll still be close like we used to be. It's just that our bond is much stronger, we're family!". Nayeon calmed down and buried herself in Jeong's arms: "I love you! Tell me a story." To distract her a little, Jeongyeon shared a story about meeting her new girlfriend: "Her name is Momo, and she's also from Japan, by the way. I ran into her at the university library by chance. She still had poor knowledge of Korean, so she asked me to help her translate some documents, and then I became her tutor. I went to her dorm almost every day and studied with her for a few hours. Our communication became more friendly, and at the next class she kissed me, and then we decided to try to date. She's very nice, you'll be friends with her if you don't mind. You don't mind, do you?". Nayeon didn't answer. She fell asleep to Jeongyeon's quiet and calm voice. 

By opening her eyes, Nayeon didn't immediately know where she was. "Jeongyeon?", the girl shouted. No one answered. Nayeon wiped the blanket and tried to get up from the sofa. She felt her head hurt after a few glasses of wine. Nayeon managed to overcome her headache and reached Jeongyeon's room. Forgetting to knock, she walked into the room and saw her friend sitting at the computer. "You're awake! Good morning!" Jeongyeon said with a smile. "I don't remember what happened yesterday. I remember that we had dinner, I drank, then I kissed you, and then it was dark," Nayeon said uncertainly. "I told you that I got a girlfriend and how I met her. You fell asleep in my arms, and I didn't wake you up, but put you on the sofa and covered you with a blanket," Jeongyeon said. "I'm going to pack up and go home now and I want to go to university and apply for a master's degree," Nayeon changed into the clothes she wore when she came to Korea without any embarrassment to her friend. "No! Firstly, we'll have breakfast and then you'll go home! I won't let you go home in this condition!", Jeong objected and pinned a friend. They hugged each other for a few minutes. "I love you, Jeong!", Nayeon whispered. 


	21. Last chance

Six months have passed

Nayeon got into the master's degree. She was able to pay for her studies with the money of the Myoui family. She's been able to combine study and work. She works as an architect for one of the best companies in South Korea. In the past six months, she has been able to undergo psychotherapy because she has had nightmares after what happened. Nayeon met Momo, Jeongyeon's girlfriend, and they often spent time in threesomes. "It's been so long since you've met anyone," Jeongyeon admitted when the girls got back together at her house. "I don't want to enter into a new relationship, I don't have the time or desire to do so," said Nayeon. "The other day, I met your ex-girlfriend at the university. Her name is Myoui Mina, isn't it?" Momo said. Jeongyeon pushed her in the shoulder, saying it wasn't the right time to remind Nayeon of Mina. "Is she studying at our university? I'm not interested in that, though. If she's doing well in her life, I'm happy for her," Nayeon tried to show her disinterest, but she wanted to ask Momo as much as possible about Mina. "They opened a dance studio and I met her at the rehearsal. She dances ballet so beautifully, her movements are so smooth, it is as if she hypnotizes everyone with her dance," Momo said. "Yes, she can do it," Nayeon thought. "We don't talk too much, just say hello, that's all. She's very secretive and doesn't talk to anyone," Momo continued, "She didn't even come to the start of the school year party. "I have an idea!" Jeongyeon exclaimed, "What if Momo invites Mina to come and the four of us spend time together?". "Forget about it, I'm against it! I do not want her to come and feel uncomfortable with me! I forbid you to even think about it, and if you make such a surprise, I'll stop talking to you," Nayeon warned. Jeongyeon and Momo nodded, but when they looked at each other, they winked as if they had come up with another plan. 

Nayeon worked with clients and helped to design their dream house. "Nayeon, you have very important clients today. You're one of the best in our company, so I recommended you to them," said Park Jihyo, company director, "You have to do whatever they ask you. Nayeon valued her work, and she knew that when a director says that, it means that the customers are very respected and she can't punch her face in the dirt and embarrass Jihyo, who was very good to her. "I'll try to do my best and more," Nayeon promised. "By the way, they've already arrived," Jihyo said. She asked the secretary to invite miss Kim to Nayeon's office and wished the girl good luck with her project. Nayeon decided to prepare the necessary materials for her work. When she returned to her office and raised her eyes, she was shocked to see Mina sitting in front of her. "What are you doing here? Why does your mother have a different last name now?" Nayeon asked confidently. "Mom wants to build a house, and she knows miss Park, who recommended you. She didn't say your name, she just said that there's a good architect in her company who can help my mom. As for the last name, as soon as we arrived in Korea, mom decided to change her last name so as not to associate herself with the past in any way, but I didn't give up my Japanese name," explained Mina, "Wait a minute, mom will be right now, she's probably talking to miss Park". To avoid any tension between the girls, Nayeon took a look at the monitor and pretended to be reading something. "What happened to you in six months?" Mina broke an awkward silence. "I rested, went to the psychologist, got a job," Nayeon answered briefly and dryly. "And I went to university to study choreography," Mina bragged. "To tell you the truth, I know. You go to the dance studio with Hirai Momo, she's my friend Jeongyeon's girlfriend, whom you saw at the airport," Nayeon replied. Mina smiled humbly, and Nayeon saw Mina's gummy cheeks again, which made her smile back. "I'll call mom, she's been gone a long time," Mina said. "Wait," Nayeon stopped the girl, "Do you want to spend time with me, Jeongyeon and Momo on Saturday?". Nayeon herself was against when Jeongyeon suggested it, but when she saw Mina, Nayeon's proposal came out involuntarily. "Why not? I wanted to meet your friend for a long time," Mina said. "I'll write you the address and time, but leave me your contacts," Nayeon asked. Mina quickly wrote her phone number and ran out of the office looking for her mother. When Mina returned to the office with her mother, the woman's eyes were rounded. "Nayeon? I didn't expect to see you here," Mina's mother remarked, "You've changed". "Yes, I've been able to change my life a bit. Can we get back to business?" Nayeon suggested. "Of course, come to us this weekend and we'll talk about everything," after Satoko finished the phrase, Nayeon put a large piece of paper in front of her and Mina, ready to listen to their wishes, as they would like their future home to be. 

When Mina came to Jeongyeon's house, she corrected her hair a bit, worrying it didn't look perfect. Mina pressed the bell button and just two seconds later Nayeon appeared in front of Mina. "You came, and we were worried that you would change your mind and not come," Nayeon said. "I had this idea, but I decided to stop being a couch potato," Mina giggled nicely. "Come in, the girls are waiting for you," Nayeon took Mina by the shoulder and led her to Jeongyeon's room. As soon as the girls walked into the room, Jeongyeon and Momo met Mina happily. "We can finally get to know each other normally," Jeongyeon said, hugging Mina. Momo just waved with a smile: "We have prepared various delicacies and drinks. Help yourselves". "Yes, we also put big pillows and bags, so make yourself at home," Jeongyeon added. At first, Mina felt shy, so she stayed near Nayeon. "Tell us, how did you get settled in Korea? You've only been living here six months, right?" Jeongyeon asked, opening a bottle of beer and taking a big sip. "I still haven't realized that I'm living in another country, and I haven't made any friends yet. I spend a lot of time doing choreography, so I come home very tired and I don't want anything anymore," Mina said. "Have you found your love half yet? It's not so hard to find someone at our university," Jeongyeon kept asking. "Hey, stop asking such questions, you don't know each other enough to ask Mina about her personal life," Nayeon said. "It's okay," Mina said, "No, I haven't met anyone. I'm fully committed to my studies now, and I don't think about it." Jeongyeon got up from the pillow and began pouring drinks into the girls' glasses. Mina said she wouldn't drink alcohol, so she asked to pour coke into her glass. Nayeon agreed to drink whiskey with coke. Momo, like Jeongyeon, took a bottle of beer from the table. "Nayeoni, have you met someone?" Mina asked. That question came as a complete surprise to Nayeon because she thought Mina was too modest to ask such questions in front of strangers. "No. I'm busy studying and working, just like you." - Nayeon answered. "Yes, and that's why she always spends time at my house. Mina, do something with her so I can finally be alone with Momo," Jeongyeon joked. "Shut up now! Are you drunk already?" Nayeon snapped at Jeongyeon. "Unnie, you're free, Mina's free. Why don't you try to start again?" Jeongyeon replied. "If you don't shut up now, I'll leave," Nayeon said. "Mina, what do you think about this?" Jeongyeon didn't go away. When Nayeon couldn't stand the questions, she stood up and went to Jeongyeon, trying to cover her mouth with her hand. "Nayeon, it's okay, it's not hard for me to answer," Mina said quietly, laughing and watching at her friends. "As I said, I don't have time for a relationship, but with Nayeon it would be easier because I already know her, and I don't have to spend much time getting to know her. "See? She doesn't mind! But you're already shutting my mouth!" said Jeongyeon fighting with Nayeon, "I bless you to be in a relationship with Mina". "Thank you, padre! But maybe we can figure it out for ourselves," said the girl. "I'm so sick of you, it's like I got into kindergarten. Let's play a game or watch a movie?" Momo suggested. "I'm in favor of us watching a movie! I even know what movie we're going to see!" Jeongyeon cheerfully took the box out of the closet, "We're going to watch "The Handmaiden" so Nayeon can decide on a relationship with Mina more quickly. "I'm going to hit you if you don't stop talking about me and Mina," Nayeon started looking at her friend as if she was ready to attack her. "Unnie, don't react like that! I'm all for watching this movie, too!", she got into the girls' argument. "Here, follow your future girlfriend's example," Jeongyeon continued to provoke her friend. Seeing nervous Nayeon sitting there, Mina took her hand to calm down her as quickly as possible. 

"It's almost midnight, I have to go home!" Mina said. "Why don't you stay the night?" Jeongyeon suggested. "I'd like to stay, but I have a tutor's class tomorrow and I want to get some sleep," Minari explained. "I'll walk you out!" said Nayeon. "That's right, walk your girlfriend out," Jeongyeon joked. "I'll pretend I didn't hear you!" said Nayeon, which showed that she was tired of her friend's jokes. "It was nice to meet you and Momo," Mina waved to the girls and left the house with Nayeon.

It was awkward for Nayeon to start a conversation after what Jeongyeon said a few hours ago, but she decided to break the silence: "Minari, I am so ashamed that you had to hear all of this. Jeongyeon always talks some shit when she drinks a lot". Mina stopped. "What's wrong?", Nayeon looked at her with confusion. "Your friend was right!" Mina replied. "Right? She's been provoking us all night. It's none of her business what kind of relationship we have or whether we should enter into it," Nayeon tried to resist Mina's words. "When we came to Korea, there wasn't even a day I didn't think about you! You have no idea how many times I wanted to call or write to you, but I held back because I knew you didn't want to see me. But fate brought us back together. So when Jeongyeon started talking about how we could renew the relationship, I agreed with her in my heart because I want to do that," Mina finished her speech and continued walking forward. "Wait," Nayeon rushed to Mina and grabbed her hand to make Mina stop, "You understand that we will remind each other of the past. Even now I am looking at you and remembering what your father tried to do to me and what he did to you. We can't live together normally". "Nayeoni", Mina put her hands on Nayeon's shoulders, "We went through all this together. We both suffered from the hands of my father, but thanks to you I'm here. I'm free, I'm happy, I have a completely different life. I'll thank you for that for the rest of my life. And if then I was afraid of my future and grabbed you like a life jacket, now I had six months to think about it and realize that I want to be with you because I love you. I understand that memories will keep coming back to us, but together we can overcome it. It's all in our hands! The important thing is that you want it, too". Nayeon kept quiet for a long time. "Don't be silent, answer something," the long pause started to piss off Mina, "I'll take any answer you want!". "Let's try again, let our relationship go as it is, but if we feel uncomfortable with each other, we'll break up completely," Naeong suggested. A wide smile appeared on Mina's face and she jumped on Nayeon as if she had been waiting forever for this. "Minari, you're about to choke me," Nayeon said, but Mina didn't let her go and kept hugging Nayeon tight. "I missed you so much, you have no idea," Mina has never been so happy. When she finally let Nayeon go, Nayeon took Mina's hand and led her home: "It's late and it's getting cold! 


	22. Epilogue

Nayeon and Mina have been in a renewed relationship for three months now. In that time, they have never quarreled. Thanks to Nayeon's highly paid job, the girls were able to rent an apartment to live together. Mina suggested this idea to Nayeon herself and she immediately agreed because Nayeon had long wanted to live apart from her parents and she felt she was ready to do this with Mina. During the time she had spent in Japan with Mina, Nayeon already knew the girl well, so she had no doubts about starting a life together. 

"Happy Birthday!" Nayeon shouted as she broke into the bedroom and held balloons with Mina's name on them. Frightened by Nayeon's shouting, Mina threw the blanket off herself, staring at the happy girl. "Nayeoni, what time is it? I don't have class until three hours later!". "I wanted to congratulate you first! Look, your name is written on the balloons!" for the first time in Mina's life, Mina saw Nayeon so smiling. "It's a pity I can't spend all day with you and my family. Why is the rehearsal at the university today?" Mina complained. "May this be the last time you'll ever be saddened! Your rehearsal will fly by quickly and we'll meet at your mother's house tonight," Nayeon tried to cheer up her girlfriend so she wouldn't be sad on her holiday. "Now I want to give you the first present," Nayeon jumped on the bed and pushed Mina onto the pillow. "A present? Except for the balloons, I don't see anything else in your hands," Mina asked bewilderedly. "I'm your present, silly!", Nayeon kissed Mina passionately and covered herself and her girlfriend with a blanket.

"I just got a call from Mina, she said she was getting out of the subway and was coming soon," Nayeon decided to arrange a surprise and invited Momo and Jeongyeon to Minari's birthday party. Satoko immediately agreed to take part in preparing a surprise for her daughter to make it an unforgettable day for her. When Mina went into the apartment, there was no light in any room, as if no one was home. "Nayeon, are you here? You told me you'd wait for me at home!", Mina wandered around the apartment, checking every room. When she finally walked into the living room, the lights went on suddenly and large coloured confetti flew to Mina, to the loud shouts of Nayeon, her mom and her friends. Mina covered her face with her hands and cried. Everyone couldn't understand why Mina had such a reaction to the surprise. Nayeon ran right up to Mina, hugging her tightly and saying, "Didn't you like our surprise? Didn't we scare you?". "No, I didn't expect you to prepare all this for me. A year ago, I never thought I'd be celebrating my birthday with the best people, so I couldn't contain my emotions," Mina said, wiping her tears shamefully. "Nayeon was so in charge here, so we couldn't help but make it perfect," Jeongyeong said. "Sit at the head of the table and we'll give you presents now," Mina's mother immediately put her daughter at the table and put a holiday hat on her head. 

"I'll start first," said Nayeon, "I thought long and hard about what to give you, so I decided to arrange a trip to the US for Christmas". She gave Mina an envelope with a travel voucher and a travel plan. "I wanted to travel with you so much, how did you guess with the gift," Mina kissed Nayeon on the lips in front of everyone without being embarrassed by her mother and friends. "Do we seem redundant here?" Jeongyeon joked, "We didn't know what to give you at all, so Momo made you a cake, decorating it with your favourite characters from video games. "I'll look for candles so Mina can make a wish," while Nayeon was looking for candles, Satoko decided to present her gift to her daughter. "The doorbell rang on time," the woman smiled suspiciously. "Who's that?" Mina asked. "Open the door and you'll see, it's your present," Satoko replied with a smile. "Mom, don't tell me it's Dad," Mina's smile disappeared instantly. "Minari, just open the door!" said the woman again. Mina obeyed her mother's request and slowly headed for the door, fearing that her father might indeed have stood there, despite his long sentence in prison. When she opened the door, she couldn't believe her eyes, there were two of her favourite dogs standing in front of her, which she had left in the Japanese kennel before leaving to Korea. When the dogs recognized their owner, they rushed to Mina and, not standing still, she fell to the floor. The guests ran to the door, seeing what present Mina had received. "Mom, how did you do it? I thought I'd never see them again!" with this gift, it was as if Mina had forgotten everything in the world. "I decided for a long time to transport them, and it happened just for your birthday! Are you happy?", the woman asked. Mina nodded silently, unable to express all her emotions. "I found the candles!" Nayeong exclaimed, "Now Mina can make a wish".

When all the guests sat down at the table again, Nayeon lit the candles on the cake, and Mina, after some thought, blew all the candles at the first attempt. "What did you wish?" Jeongyeon asked. "Hey, it's Mina's wish, if she says it, it won't come true," Nayeon replied quickly to her friend. "Wait! I have something to say!", Mina suddenly shouted and got out of the chair. "Is something wrong?" Satoko asked. "It's okay. I have something to tell you!" Mina answered. "I'm very grateful to you all for being here for me today. I don't think my birthday is anything special to cancel your plans and waste time sitting at the same table with me. I never imagined that one day I would sit at the same table with my mom, my beloved girlfriend, and my friends, and we would have carefree fun. I can't believe this has become real. Let's make it stay that way so we never break up and spend time together," Mina said as she took a breath, everyone looked at her in amazement for fear of interrupting her. "Nayeon, you can't imagine how much you've changed my life. It's only thanks to you that we sit here and celebrate my birthday. I can't imagine what my life would be like if you hadn't met my mother. I've known for a long time that you're the right person for me. I want to ask you something," Mina finished her speech and put her hand in her jeans pocket. Nayeon frowned at her eyebrows, not knowing what Mina had to say. "I thought a lot about whether or not to suggest it, but I decided to try and do it on my day," Mina took a small box out of her pocket and opened it to Nayeon, "I want to legitimize our relationship". So as not to scream in amazement, Momo put her hand over her mouth and Jeongyeon decided to comment on it: "Nayeon, is she proposing to you?". "I think so," Nayeon looked at her friend. "If you give up that conditionality, I won't be offended and we'll live the way we used to," Mina explained. "It's so sudden, I never thought you'd d dare to offer me this," Nayeon replied. "Take it! You two love each other! Imagine what a beautiful ceremony you'll have," Jeongyeon said. Nayeon got up so as not to look at Mina from the bottom up: "I love you and I love you more and more every day. And I like watching you change and grow up day by day," Nayeon turned her eyes down to think, "I agree to do that. I'm agreeing to get married!". Jeongyeon and Momo jumped out of their chairs, clapping loudly and congratulating the girls. Mina's mother wiped the rolling tears because she never thought her daughter would take such a bold step. "We'll give you the best wedding ever! Even Kate Middleton and Prince William will be jealous," Jeongyeon said confidently. "I love you!" whispered Mina. "I love you more," Nayeon immediately kissed Mina so she couldn't say anything. "I have one last surprise left for Mina - a firework!", Satoko remembered.

It was already cold outside, so Nayeon brought warm blankets for everyone. She clinged to Mina's back, covering herself and Mina with one blanket. "Look at the lovebirds, they are cooing," Momo said. "Maybe we can live to see your wedding too," Nayeon joked. "No, firstly, you will marry, then we'll wait for your children and then we can get married in peace," Jeongyeon said. The sky lit up with colourful flashes and Mina watched as bright figures formed in the sky. Looking at all this, she felt incredibly happy, it seemed like a fairy tale that became reality. "I love you, Nayeoni," Mina said without breaking away from the salute. "I love you, Minari," Nayeon laid her head on Mina's shoulder, thinking about how Nayeon's financial problems had helped her find the love of her life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the story! Thank you for reading and commenting on my fanfic! I appreciate it!


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